ADDIS ABABA, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- Eritrea and the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) have vowed to strengthen their partnership to support the country's growth and place it on a more sustainable development path in the coming years.
This came as the Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki met with the African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina in the Eritrean capital of Asmara, the AfDB said in a statement issued Friday.
During the meeting, the Eritrean president commended AfDB for playing a strategic role in improving the lives of the Eritrean people.
He said the country had identified the African Development Bank Group as the partner of choice to drive rapid socioeconomic development and to move its economy "from subsistence to industrialization."
"We have had fruitful engagements with the bank and want to do more with the institution on a sustainable level," the statement quoted Afwerki as saying.
In April, AfDB's board of directors approved a 49.92 million U.S. dollars financing grant for the construction of a 30-megawatt solar photovoltaic power plant in Dekemhare, which is said to be the bank's largest investment in the country. The project will have a transformative impact on improving access to energy in Eritrea, the AfDB said.
Adesina said the AfDB, as an important partner of Eritrea, is currently supporting the country in energy, water and sanitation, agriculture, skills and capacity development, as well as economic and financial governance.
