The African Development Bank and the New Development Bank have signed an agreement to promote new impact projects to improve lives of millions of Africans.

Under the deal, the New Development Bank −a multilateral development bank established by BRICS countries of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – will work with the African Development Bank to jointly identify, prepare and co-finance projects in countries of mutual interest.

The two insitutions signed a Memorandum of Understanding agreement on 18 October, on the sidelines of the World Bank annual meetings, formalizing the partnership and general cooperation between them.

“Through this cooperation, we will realize our shared objectives of promoting economic and social development, and deliver sustainable development and infrastructure projects at scale that change the lives of millions,” African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina said, following the signing.

Projects to be targeted cut across clean energy, transport infrastructure, irrigation, water resource management and sanitation, sustainable urban development, and economic cooperation and integration.

“This MoU creates a platform for sharing knowledge and deepening synergies between the African Development and NDB. The two banks will consider each other as ‘preferred’ partners and will harness their respective resource advantages and professional expertise, to build a long-term, stable and mutually beneficial relationship,” Kundapur Vaman Kamath, President of the New Development Bank, said.