Mauritania’s ex-finance minister elected new president of African Development Bank Group

By Mevlut Ozkan

ISTANBUL (AA) - Sidi Ould Tah, Mauritania's former finance minister, was elected president of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) on Thursday.

Kaba Niale, Ivory Coast’s planning and development minister and chair of the bank group’s board of governors, announced the results, the AfDB said on its website.

Tah was elected at the bank group’s annual meetings in Ivory Coast’s largest city in Abidjan, by its top decision-making body, the board of governors, made up of finance ministers and central bank chiefs from its 81 regional and non-regional member countries.

He previously served as Mauritania’s finance minister, held senior roles in multilateral institutions, and led the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) as president since 2015.

Tah will officially succeed current President Akinwumi Adesina on Sept. 1, following the latter’s second five-year term.

Founded in 1964, the African Development Bank Group—comprising the African Development Bank, the African Development Fund, and the Nigeria Trust Fund—aims to drive sustainable growth and reduce poverty across Africa, with shareholders that include 54 African and 27 non-African countries.