The president of the African Development Bank (www.AfDB.org) Akinwumi Adesina is expected in the Ethiopian capital for the African Union’s 33rd Assembly of Heads of State and Government. The summit runs from 8-10 February 2020 under the theme: Silencing the Guns: Creating Conducive Conditions for Africa’s Development.

Adesina will arrive in Addis Ababa with a full slate of talks and meetings ahead of him. These include the African Peer Review Mechanism’s annual forum; an African Leadership for Nutrition high-level dinner; and bilateral meetings with, among others, the president of Sierra Leone, Julius Maada Bio, and the CEO of the African Union’s Development agency, AUDA-NEPAD. Adesina will also participate in bilateral meetings with heads of state and high-level discussions around the continental report on the implementation of Agenda 2063.

The AU Summit also features several side events. One of these, a breakfast hosted by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, will focus on Sustaining peace and economic security in Africa.

Following the recent launch of the 2020 African Economic Outlook, the Bank’s Director of Macroeconomic Policy, Forecasting and Research Hanan Morsy will present the findings of the institution’s flagship report to the African Union. Representatives of the AU Commission, government officials, and policymakers will be in attendance.

The African Leadership for Nutrition (ALN), another strategic partnership involving the African Development Bank, the AU Commission, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and other partners, will be an important focus of the trip. An ALN high-level dinner, with participation from 7 heads of states, will be held on 8 February, to consolidate gains made in securing high-level political engagement on nutrition, and to reflect on progress made to date in tackling malnutrition and stunting.

The meeting is a key milestone ahead of the Nutrition for Growth Summit to be held in Tokyo in December 2020.