Regional integration: AfDB launches its “Integrate Africa Forum” in Brazzaville
The African Development Bank Group is organizing, on May 28, 2026 in Brazzaville, the first Forum on integration in Africa called “Integrate Africa Forum”. Under the theme “Made in Africa, Marketed in Africa”, this meeting aims to accelerate the implementation of the AfCFTA and regional value chains. The President of the AfDB Group, Sidi Ould Tah, is expected to defend a vision of industrialization driven by intra-African trade.
Brazzaville aims to transform the Congo Basin into a global strategic asset
On the sidelines of the African Development Bank Annual Meetings, the Republic of Congo will host, on May 26, 2026 in Brazzaville, the first Round Table of donors of the Congo Basin Climate Commission. The stated goal is to finance the Investment Plan of the Blue Fund for the Congo Basin and accelerate international mobilization around the 63 priority projects presented by the BDEAC. The meeting will bring together several African heads of state and leaders of continental and international institutions, including the Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguesso, President of the Congo Basin Climate Commission, Sidi Ould Tah, President of the African Development Bank, Dieudonné Evou Mekou, President of the Development Bank of Central African States (BDEAC), Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, President of the African Union Commission, Huang Xia, Special Envoy for the Great Lakes region and representative of the UN Secretary-General, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, President of Equatorial Guinea and current Chair of the ECCAS, Yoweri Museveni, current Chair of the East African Community, Évariste Ndayishimiye, President of Burundi and current Chair of the African Union, His Majesty Mohammed VI as well as William Ruto, Chair of the CAHOSCC. The revised program in recent hours also includes interventions by Arlette Soudan-Nonault, Executive Secretary of the Congo Basin Climate Commission, and Christian Yoka, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Blue Fund. A “donors’ round table and investors’ announcement” sequence will punctuate the meeting before a final declaration carried by Deborah Mlongo Barasa.
Sidi Ould Tah and Dieudonné Evou Mekou expected in the front row
The opening ceremony of the climate round table will notably feature speeches by Dieudonné Evou Mekou and Sidi Ould Tah. The AfDB and the BDEAC now appear as the two financial pillars of a climate diplomacy focused on the Congo Basin, the second global ecological lung after the Amazon.
Denis Sassou Nguesso as master of continental ceremonies
The Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguesso, also President of the Congo Basin Climate Commission and the CEMAC, will deliver the opening and closing speeches of the donors’ round table. Brazzaville seeks to take advantage of the AfDB Annual Meetings to reposition Congo as a diplomatic and financial platform for Central Africa.
William Ruto, Mahamoud Ali Youssouf and Mohammed VI announced
Among the expected personalities are William Ruto, Chair of CAHOSCC, Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, and His Majesty Mohammed VI. The presence of several African leaders illustrates the increasing importance of the African climate narrative in international negotiations.
The Blue Fund enters its operational phase
The BDEAC is expected to present the governance bodies of the Blue Fund for the Congo Basin as well as the first mobilized donors. The 63 priority projects include forest preservation, green infrastructure, energy, river transport, and sustainable economy in the ECCAS region.
Christian Yoka leading the financial aspect
The Congolese Minister of Finance, Christian Yoka, will chair the Executive Committee of the Blue Fund and will speak on resource mobilization mechanisms. Congo is counting on a combination of concessional financing, climate investments, and multilateral partnerships to make the project credible.
AfDB places commercial integration at the heart of its 2026 agenda
Through the Integrate Africa Forum, the African Development Bank aims to demonstrate that regional integration is no longer just an institutional project but an industrial lever. The Forum includes plenary sessions, high-level discussions, and round tables dedicated to African value chains, regional logistics, and financing of intra-African trade.
The closed session of May 25: AIAFD in consultation
Monday, May 25, the afternoon will be marked by a discreet but strategic meeting: the Ordinary General Assembly of the Association of African Development Financing Institutions (AIAFD). Scheduled from 2:30 pm to 5:00 pm in closed format and by invitation only, this meeting will bring together the main African development banks and institutions around the financing challenges of the continent. Behind the technical nature of the meeting, important decisions are often made on regional financing mechanisms, coordination between public development banks, and future investment priorities in Africa. In the context of the AfDB Annual Meetings, this sequence appears as a moment of consultation among the major financiers of African development. A discreet meeting, but closely watched in continental financial circles.
