<\/p>\n
The discussion, earlier this week, brought together Presidents Brice Oligui Nguema of Gabon, Faustin\u2011Archange Touad\u00e9ra of the Central African Republic and Denis Sassou Nguesso of the Republic of Congo, along with AfDB President Sidi Ould Tah.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The dialogue focused on priorities including energy, infrastructure, industrialisation and climate finance, under the theme of mobilising development financing in a changing global environment.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Nguema said Gabon is working to transform its natural resources into long-term economic growth through biodiversity finance and eco-tourism. Nguema highlighted efforts to develop a carbon credit framework and establish a national agency to manage environmental assets.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Nguema said preserving forest ecosystems while generating economic value remains a key objective and called for increased international support for countries protecting the Congo Basin.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Nguesso said diversification of economies beyond oil and gas is necessary, while acknowledging the continued role of hydrocarbons in national revenue. Nguesso outlined plans to develop fertiliser production using domestic mineral resources, including potash, phosphate and natural gas.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Nguesso said energy generation is central to industrial development, highlighting hydropower potential in the Congo River basin and ongoing cooperation with AfDB on regional electricity projects.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Touad\u00e9ra said landlocked countries require greater support to unlock economic potential. Touad\u00e9ra highlighted the importance of investment in roads, electricity and regional connectivity to attract investors.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Touad\u00e9ra also expressed support for initiatives aimed at expanding electricity access across the continent, including programmes targeting increased energy supply.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Ould Tah said Africa has significant untapped financial resources, estimated at about $4 trillion, which could be used to support development projects. Ould Tah said the role of AfDB includes working with governments and financial institutions to structure projects and mobilise funding.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Ould Tah said improving investment conditions and ensuring returns for investors are important for attracting capital. Ould Tah said strengthening partnerships could help address the continent\u2019s development financing gap.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Leaders also emphasised the importance of human capital. Nguema said investment in education, skills development and training is necessary to support economic transformation.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–AfDB\/ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":35237,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[44],"class_list":["post-35698","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-finance","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"African leaders have called for increased investment in key sectors and greater mobilisation of private capital to support the continent\u2019s development agenda during a Presidential dialogue at the African Development Bank (AfDB) Annual Meetings in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo.","published_date":"","news_description":"African leaders have called for increased investment in key sectors and greater mobilisation of private capital to support the continent\u2019s development agenda during a Presidential dialogue at the African Development Bank (AfDB) Annual Meetings in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/35698","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/35698\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35699,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/35698\/revisions\/35699"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35698"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=35698"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}