Arab Bank partners Borno govt for economic development

The Director-General of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, Dr Sidi Ould-Tah, has reiterated the commitment of the bank to partner Borno Government for economic development.

Ould-Tah made this known on Saturday during a courtesy call to Gov. Babagana Zulum in Maiduguri.

Ould-Tah, who led a delegation of the bank to Maiduguri, said the partnership that was beneficial to the parties started last year when the governor led a delegation to the bank in Khartoum.

“The bank has also sent to Borno a technical team which has worked with their counterparts here to prepare a pilot project that is currently being implemented in Borno.

“From our discussion with the governor, we need to scale up our intervention to be able to respond to the needs of the population in Borno.

“And this is why today we are here to discuss with the government about a full-fledged integrated rural development programme to support Borno state,” he said.

According to him, the project will be a large one with a sizeable amount of financing from the bank for the next three to five years.

He said the programme would cover all areas identified by the Borno government.

Responding, Zulum who lauded the intervention by the bank, said it would facilitate the economic and recovery process in Borno and sub-Saharan Africa.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that while in Maiduguri, the delegation, which was accompanied by the Nigerian Ambassador to Sudan, Mr Safiu Olamiyan, visited agricultural and vocational training centres.

(NAN)