[ad_1]
-
Foreign Secretary pledges to build “mutually beneficial future partnership” during visit to Kenya and Ethiopia.
-
James Cleverly will announce new UK support to the Africa Development Fund to tackle climate change, strengthen food security and boost Africa’s growing economies.
-
It will break ground on the Railway City Regeneration Project – a high-tech green development, designed by British architects and backed by UK export finance.
The UK will today announce new support for the African Development Fund (ADF) to help Africa’s poorest communities grow their economies, create jobs and improve healthcare.
The Foreign Secretary will confirm funding in Kenya as a key plank of the UK’s honest, credible investment offer, on his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa since becoming Foreign Secretary.
The UK will contribute £650 million over the next three years as part of a comprehensive $9 billion international financing package for the ADF, which will provide high-impact and low-cost finance to Africa’s poorest countries. This includes the £200 million awarded to the ADF’s new Climate Action Window which was announced at COP27.
The UK funding will help deliver electricity to around 20 million people, improve sanitation for over 30 million people and create over 2.3 million new jobs across the continent. The fund supports 37 of the most vulnerable countries on the African continent.
The Foreign Secretary said:
We greatly value working with our colleagues and friends across Africa. We all benefit from such relationships. The UK offers honest, reliable investment that does not burden countries with debt, but instead unlocks huge potential for economic growth while boosting global health and tackling climate change.
The UK’s contribution to the African Development Bank demonstrates our longstanding commitment to the continent. When we go together we go far.
The Foreign Secretary, who arrives in Kenya today (December 7), will also see how UK support is helping to develop Kenya’s green economy.
Just a month after the Prime Minister and President Ruto pledged to fast-track green British investment, the Foreign Secretary will break ground on the construction of Railway City – Nairobi’s renovated Central Station, designed by British architects with the latest green technology. The King’s Cross London-style development, backed by £80m of UK export finance, will remake Nairobi’s bustling central business district as the green urban environment of the future.
And ahead of Railway City’s launch, UK development finance institution British International Investment (BII) will sign a new risk-sharing agreement with the African Guarantee Fund (AGF) to support green economic growth and job creation across Africa.
The agreement will unlock $150 million in affordable finance for small and medium enterprises – expected to facilitate up to 17,300 loans to businesses across Africa. BII and AGF will each underwrite 25% of the loan.
It reflects the UK’s ongoing support for small businesses in Africa to create jobs and transition to green energy, while helping vulnerable countries cope with the adverse effects of climate change.
During a climate reception at the British High Commission, the Foreign Secretary will congratulate the winner of the Earthshot Prize, launched two years ago by Prince William and David Attenborough. He will announce that the UK is supporting a new reforestation project in Kenya through the UK PACT program with an investment of £3.8 million.
The Foreign Secretary will travel to Ethiopia on Thursday 8 November, where he will see first-hand the devastating effects of climate change, conflict and food insecurity.
In both countries, the Foreign Secretary will meet with key government figures where he will reiterate his vision of a strong partnership between the UK and African countries based on mutual respect and benefits and to further enrich the populations of Africa, the UK and beyond. , healthy and green.
Background
- The UK has contributed a total of £650 million to the African Development Fund. This includes the £200million announced at the COP for the Climate Action Window and an additional £450million for Core Replenishment, which will be announced in Kenya.
- The $9 billion package announced by the ADF for the next 3 years is the largest ever replenishment of the fund (this is the 16th replenishment).
-
The UK is one of the top donors to the fund. Outcomes that are expected to help deliver UK funding include:
- New or improved electricity connections for 18.9 million people (9.2 million women).
- 500MW additional renewable energy generation capacity
- Agrarian reform for 23.6 million people (11.3 million women).
- New or improved sanitation for 31.2 million people (15.4 million women).
- Improved transportation facilities for 14.3 million people (7.2 million women).
-
More than 2.3 million new jobs (1.1 million women).
- ADF is part of the African Development Bank: Africa’s only AAA-rated financial institution, majority owned by African countries. The Bank is an important partner for the UK in Africa. *ADF projects are helping to boost Kenya’s economy and promote livelihoods for the poor, for example, by providing cheaper electricity, renewable energy, increased double forest cover, and increased access to water to increase seed, fertilizer, and food production. . and farm income.
- And the fund is helping Ethiopia become self-sufficient in wheat this year by facilitating access to drought-resistant seeds and other agricultural technologies. It is also increasing farm incomes, creating jobs and promoting trade through better transport links and cross-border electricity networks.
- In addition to our support for the ADF, we are also providing a guarantee, announced at COP26, that will increase the Bank’s lending to countries such as Egypt and South Africa by up to $2bn to tackle climate change.
- Our collaboration with Kenya continues to build on the ambitious UK-Kenya Strategic Partnership, a five-year agreement that unlocks mutual benefits for the UK and Kenya.
[ad_2]
Source link
