I want to thank President Ouattara for convening this meeting. Mr. President, I very much wanted to be with you physically in Abidjan. However, with the third wave of Covid-19 currently affecting our country and region, I am joining you virtually today.
Rwanda fully endorses the Abidjan Declaration to express Africa’s strong support for the 20th replenishment of the International Development Association (IDA).
I also wish to commend the central role that the World Bank has played, and continues to play, in supporting our continent through the Covid-19 pandemic.
The scope of this replenishment is very ambitious, both financially and in terms of the comprehensive set of funding priorities that have been defined. Alongside health systems, we also need to increase investment in infrastructure, climate mitigation, industrial development, and human capital.
That is exactly what we need right now, and it is why the World Bank decided to launch the 20th replenishment cycle early.
In Africa, we must do our part by building accountable and efficient service delivery institutions. We must also mobilize more domestic tax revenue and invest a greater share of our own resources in the health and education budget.
However, these efforts will not produce the good results we want without greater attention to peace and security. This point was emphasized earlier by my brother, President Ouattara, Chairperson Moussa Faki, Makhtar Diop, and Axel van Trotsenburg.
In all of Africa’s sub-regions, we see examples of gains being eroded because of conflict and fragility. This diverts resources from other development priorities, and even affects regional neighbours.
There is a real need for us to work together closely to find a sustainable financing mechanism for peace and security institutions in Africa, alongside IDA20 and reinforcing it.
If implemented, the bold vision articulated in this Declaration will enable Africa to recover from the pandemic and return to a solid growth trajectory. Of course, it goes without saying that the private sector has a very important and central role to play in partnering with government.
I, therefore, join the call to attract at least $100 billion for the 20th IDA replenishment by the end of 2021.
We must maintain focus on the most important thing, and that is continuing to make the progress we are making. We cannot allow obstacles to become permanent setbacks, especially those within our power to fix.
That is what this moment of IDA replenishment is really about.
I thank you, Mr. President, dear colleagues, for your kind attention.