(AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK) - The Corporate Secretaries of International Financial Institutions (IFIs) will hold their 20th annual meeting from 11 to 13 September 2019 at the headquarters of the African Development Bank in Abidjan.

The Abidjan deliberations will seek to build on the achievements of the group’s meeting in Bali, Indonesia, a year ago. Members will address the effectiveness of the IFIs governing Board, broadening the role of Board committees, supporting board committees, and strengthening relationships between the Board and management.

Some 50 participants from 19 International Financial Institutions are expected to attend. They include the African Development Bank, the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, the European Investment Bank, Asian Development Bank and the Asian Investment and Infrastructure Bank.

The institutions will make presentations on “The Impact of Geopolitics on Shareholding”, “Innovations in Technology around Board Business”, “Addressing Board Work Programming Challenges”, ”Supervision and Good Governance Reforms”, “Best Practices in International Financial Institutions”, “The Role of the Audit Committee” and “Governance of IFI Boards”.

In his remarks ahead of the meeting,  Vincent Nmehielle, Secretary-General of the African Development Bank and this year’s host said: “…our interactions over the past few years have afforded me the opportunity to understand that we face similar and common challenges as overseers of the corporate governance mechanisms of our various institutions. Accordingly, we look forward to welcoming our guests to Abidjan for our ever-relevant deliberations aimed at better serving our various institutions”.