Nigeria and the African Development Bank have agreed to a joint technical review of the bank’s portfolio in Nigeria and to prepare an official visit by the bank’s president to Nigeria.

The agreement was reached Monday when the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, met AfDB President Dr. Sidi Ould Tah on the sidelines of the 2026 IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings in Bangkok, Thailand.

‎Oyedele said Nigeria intends to remain the bank’s largest shareholder and to meet its capital subscription obligations. He said the long relationship should now deliver more development finance and economic gains.

He expressed Nigeria’s support for the Four Cardinal Points, the bank’s strategic agenda under Ould Tah. The four points are to bridge Africa’s financing gap, secure financial sovereignty, harness demographic dividend, and build resilient infrastructure through local transformation of natural resources.

‎He said the agenda aligns with Nigeria’s development priorities.

‎The portfolio review will identify bottlenecks, speed up project delivery and align operations with federal government’s priorities.

Ould Tah’s proposed visit will include engagement with President Bola Tinubu, senior officials and stakeholders on Nigeria’s development priorities and cooperation with the bank.

The two sides also discussed high cost of borrowing faced by African countries. Oyedele said international credit ratings do not always reflect improvements in fundamentals and reform performance, which raises financing costs.

In response, Ould Tah said AfDB is developing a facility to give African governments technical support in engagement with rating agencies to present credible data and challenge assessments where necessary.

They also discussed African financial integration, local currency transactions, trade insurance and credit enhancement to reduce investment risk and attract private capital, as well as need to retain skilled professionals on the continent.