The President of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, Alassane Ouattara, chaired yesterday, by videoconference, the opening ceremony of the 55th Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank (AfDB). On this occasion, President Ouattara deplored the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the economies of African countries. “We are all bereaved by this covid 19 pandemic which today requires us to organize annual meetings by videoconference (…) The crisis has hit the economy of Côte d'Ivoire hard. Key sectors are affected. In particular agricultural exports, the construction and public works sector, tourism, trade, hotels, restaurants, transport, etc. According to current data, Côte d'Ivoire's economic growth will stand at 1.8% this year against 5.2% initially forecast. After an average annual growth rate of around 8% during the period 2012-2019,” lamented President Ouattara. He also wished that the present meeting which will be sanctioned by the election of a new president can take place in peace, in accordance with the texts of the institution. “I would like to salute the remarkable work of Nialé Kaba as Chair of the Board of Governors as well as all the governors and reiterate my confidence in you to carry out the electoral process in compliance with the texts of the African Development Bank” said he said. The Ivorian Minister of Planning and Development, Nialé Kaba, briefly recalled the major actions of the fifteen (15) months spent at the head of the Board of Governors before indicating that beyond its harmful effects, the pandemic makes it necessary to take up the challenge of digitizing the economies of African countries. "In this respect, we must be able to make the most of this digitization and the organization of the AfDB's 2020 Annual Meetings, in particular the election of its Chairman by electronic means, appears to be a real step forward in our working methods" said she indicated. The outgoing President of the AfDB, candidate for his own succession, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, recalled that the African Development Bank has always drawn its strength from solidarity. “It was during a meeting here in Abidjan that you, the shareholders, approved the largest capital increase in the history of the Bank, an increase of 115 billion United States dollars. During another meeting in Pretoria, South Africa, we approved a 35% increase in the resources of the African Development Fund, particularly important funding for low-income countries and fragile states. he says.