On Wednesday, August 26, 2020, the President of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, Alassane Ouattara, invited the governors of the African Development Bank (ADB), meeting during the institution's annual meetings, to be ambitious and realistic in their R&D acute; push-ups.

During these exceptionally open sessions by videoconference due to the COVID-19 crisis, President Ouattara said that African populations expect a lot from the projects and programs initiated by the ADB.

He said he hoped that governors would address certain issues, including funding for project implementation.

In terms of realism, according to the Ivorian President, it will be up to the governors to take into account the specificities of the member states in solving socio-economic problems. This, “so that no country wishing to benefit from the increase in the Bank's capital will be left behind.”

On 31 October 2019, in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, the Board of Governors of the ADB approved a capital increase that increased the Bank's capital by a historic amount, from 115 billion to 208 billion dollars.

The theme of the 2020 Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank is “Rebuilding Africa better after the COVID-19 pandemic.” They will end on Thursday with the (electronic) election of the president of the ADB. The current president, Akinwumi Adesina, is the only candidate running for a new five-year term.