My Visit to Niger and Togo

Last week I visited Niger and Togo to discuss regional and global priorities including strengthening security and peace, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, food security, energy access, and the importance of education, among other issues. The success of Africa is vital for the success of development.

In Niamey, I had constructive discussions—including with President Bazoum, Prime Minister Mahamadou, many cabinet members, and former President Issoufou—that focused on World Bank efforts to support growth, address fragility, increase electricity access, and invest in girls’ education. We exchanged views on the challenging security situation in the Sahel region, and I highlighted our support to these fragile regions, including through IDA’s Prevention and Resilience Allocation. 

I noted the vastly increasing electricity needs in Niger as its population expands from 25 million to an expected 65 million in 2050 and discussed energy needs and WBG programs on a visit to the Gorou Banda Energy Hub. The WBG is actively supporting hydropower, solar power generation, transmission lines, and rural electrification to help increase one of the world’s lowest electricity access rates. 

Niger also has a need to massively expand education to meet one of the world’s highest population growth rates. The WBG program focuses on promoting girls’ education, helping the government build 36,000 new schools in the near term, and training the hundreds of thousands of teachers needed for the boom in the student-age population. I was pleased to visit the Niamey Teacher Training College, one of eight nationwide. The World Bank is committed to double its support for education in Niger by the end of this FY, and increase it further next FY, including a new project focusing specifically on adolescent girls.

In my positioning speech ahead of the World Bank Group Spring Meetings hosted by the Abdou Moumouni University of Niamey, I laid out the prospect of a prolonged period of financial stress for developing countries and the goal of development that fosters macroeconomic stability, stronger private sectors, increased trade, and support for global public goods. I commended Niger’s peaceful transition of power, highlighted the challenges in achieving regional stability, and noted that demographics and climate change are adding to fragility. I also highlighted the magnitude of the annual investments needed to meet the financing gap for development and global public goods and the importance of concessional resources well above current IDA levels.

On a personal note, I was pleased and touched to receive the Order of Merit of Niger from President Bazoum for economic achievement and support for Africa.

I visited Togo to meet with the government, visit project sites, and facilitate the partnership between universities in Africa and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) from the United States. Discussions with President Gnassingbé, Prime Minister Dogbe, and many cabinet members focused on education, agricultural productivity, digital transformation, private sector development, and fragility prevention. In particular, I highlighted the need to improve the effectiveness of spending and taxation, enable private sector development, implement policies to encourage job creation, and expand land titling.

I commended the government for Togo’s commitment to digital transformation and its efforts to become a connectivity hub in West Africa and visited the country’s subsea cable landing that was supported by IFC and IDA’s Private Sector Window and is helping deliver affordable, high-quality connectivity.

I also noted the need for improvements in agricultural productivity and efficient fertilizer use throughout West Africa, and was glad to see that fertilizer had arrived at the Port of Lomé partially funded by World Bank emergency financing support.

I enjoyed visiting CERSA, an Africa Center of Excellence (ACE) institute at the University of Lomé. I was briefed on the joint academic and commercial efforts to strengthen and expand the poultry sector, which is critical to Africa’s nutrition and economy.

I joined the presidents of the University of Lomé and Clark Atlanta University for their signing of an MOU. Clark Atlanta is one of six HBCUs that have partnered with the WBG to promote the sharing of knowledge and talent between universities.

My visit to Niger and Togo—and the delivery of my pre-Spring Meetings speech in Niamey—reaffirmed the World Bank Group’s commitment to promoting security and peace in the region, and to strengthening education, building stronger private sectors, and to strengthening resilience to offset devastating climate costs. As I noted in my interviews with Jeune Afrique (French) and with BBC World's Aaron Heslehurst, these actions are all critical to the region's growth and development.

Back in Washington, DC, today I had a good discussion with Lisa Abramowicz hosted by the Atlantic Council that explored the state of economic development. I'm looking forward to a public fire-side chat with Mohamed El-Erien on April 5 on the macroeconomic outlook, as we head into the Spring Meetings starting next week.