 Well, good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to this press conference on Africa's new deal on energy. Delighted to be here. There are very few things more important for a fourth industrial revolution that are ready supply of energy. There are very few greater priorities in Africa than getting energy supply, access to energy and investing in the energy infrastructure. Absolutely critical for the region's future. That said, I'm delighted to have some of the foremost leaders of that region here today to talk to us about Africa's new deal on energy. We have a very short period of time, unfortunately, due to very, very hectic schedules for all of our panellists here and indeed yourselves, I'm sure. So I'll do a very brief instruction of my panel before allowing them to offer us some short remarks and then we'll go to questions. First of all, I have Akim Wumi Ayadeji Edesina, President African Development Bank based in Abidjan. Kofi Nan, we all know, Chairman of the Kofi Federation, currently based in Switzerland, Secretary-General of the United Nations, 1997 to 2006. Honoured to be joined by Daniel Cabellan Duncan, Prime Minister of the Code d'Ivoire and Gail Smith, the Administrator of USAID, of course, very involved here through the Power Africa Initiative by President Obama. This is about a transformative partnership, Mr. Adesina. Please tell us more. It is. Thank you very much. I think let me first work on the price to this particular event and I'm glad that all the leaders can join us. Yesterday evening, we launched what was called the transformative partnership on energy for Africa. The question is, why did we do that? We did that because Africa faces tremendous amount of energy challenges. What we take for granted in developed countries is actually a luxury in Africa because today Africa essentially has literally no power. You've got 645 million Africans that don't have access to electricity and over 700 million Africans that don't have access to clean cooking energy. And so even though Africa accounts for 15% or 16% of the global population, it accounts for 53% of the population in the world without access to electricity and we lose so much of our GDP because we don't have access to electricity. So the point is very clear. Africa is simply tired of being in the dark and that's why we are taking decisive actions. The former UN Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Anani, is here. He did a fantastic job with the Africa Progress Funding Report, which actually called for action on this particular issue. So both the new deal on energy for Africa and the transformative partnership on energy for Africa that we are talking about is actually a very response to that excellent work that Mr. Anani had led. And of course the U.S. President, President Obama and Gail Smith is here, have been actually working a lot in Africa in moving things forward. So what does the new deal actually mean for us in Africa? The new deal in energy for Africa is really to allow us to be able to have an on-grid connection, a total of 160 gigawatts of new electricity connections in Africa. That would be the equivalent of building 800 new power plants, each with about 200 megawatts capacity. Transmission and on-grid connections are going to be important and we are looking at 130 million new grid connections and off-grid connections of about 75 million off-grid connections. The ambition is very high and it is absolutely doable. Others have done it, China has done it, Vietnam has done it, Bangladesh has done it. There's no reason why Africa can't do it. So the principles that will guide our transformative partnership are as follows. First, we agree all the energy partners in Africa will raise the level of investment in the energy sector. Second, the countries themselves that are the critical ones will increase the share of their GDP going into the energy sector from 0.3 percent to about 3.4 percent and that will make about $50 billion available every year to actually tackle this issue. And fourth is what we launched yesterday and they were all here, the transformative partnership on energy for Africa as a way of doing public-private partnerships to do innovative financing at scale. And finally is the importance of reforms of the energy sector that we are all committed to and importance of political will. Let me just close by saying that as partners we are responding to the needs of Africa and this is going to be a transformative partnership that will allow us to do things faster, to do them at scale and to do them together to light up and power Africa. So thank you very much. Thank you. Mr. Rana, as Mr. Rada said, you've been closely involved in pushing the energy agenda in Africa. Yeah, let me say ladies and gentlemen that I'm very happy to be able to join you here this afternoon. When President Adesinha took over the bank, he also asked me to join him as a champion for this new energy deal. Without hesitation, I accepted to play the role of a champion. But alone, I can do nothing. And alone, President Adesinha can do nothing. What we need is your determined and sustained support to make this a reality. We all have to be champions for this bold and noble cause. I think if we are able to power Africa and expand the development base, it will have impact on health, education, manufacturing and a whole range of other issues where Africa is left behind. In looking at the energy issue, it is also important for us to look across borders and work with neighbors to generate electricity, not just limited to our own individual countries. Efficiency also counts. We have to use the energy, limited energy. We have efficiently and redirect resources that today's goes into subsidies, which are not always effective towards creating access to the poor who do not have energy. I think this is an exciting moment. And I applaud the leadership of the President of African Development Bank, the energy and the courage that is brought to this. And I'm confident that if we all work together, we pull our efforts and resources, we will succeed. So by powering Africa, we are also contributing to climate change because we are pushing for renewable energy. Obviously, we have a judicious mix of energies that we have to use, but eventually the idea is to go green. And I think Africa has the possibility of being the first continent because of the situation we are in to become a green continent by really, really pushing for renewable energy. Thank you. Thank you. Mindful of time because I know Gail has to leave quite shortly, unfortunately. Prime Minister, could you tell us a little bit about how committed you are to enforcing this partnership? Well, thank you. I would like to congratulate President Adesina for his initiative. And well, as far as we are concerned, we attend the meeting organized by the ADB Bank last September in Abidjan. Well, the situation in Côte d'Ivoire is that our capacity production is now 2,000 megawatt. And by 2020, we want to wish 4,000 megawatt. Well, to do that, we have improved the regulatory framework in Côte d'Ivoire, given creating a business environment for investment by the private sector. Well, in Côte d'Ivoire, 62% of the investment in the country is made by the private sector. We have an increase in GDP of about 9% as an average during these, well, four past years. And when we have this growth, we need to have at least the double of construction electricity. So, well, for the production, as I mentioned, we have to double the production from now to 2020. The financials should come mainly by the private sector, will be done by the private sector. And we want to change also the mix of energy in Côte d'Ivoire, for the time being, 65% of the energy is done by a thermal power plant and 35% by hydroelectric dams. What you want to do by 2020, well, 60% will be done by hydro power and only 30% by thermal power plant and 10% will be renewable energy using sun, of course, biomass, because each year there's about 12 million tons of waste of agricultural products. So we have to use it to produce electricity. And what to end, I would like to say that the interconnection of the grid, the suppression is really important. We now furnish electricity to five countries already and we have been asked to furnish to supply electricity to three of the countries. So that's the reason why we have to double the capacity to meet our commitments. Thank you. Okay, how does this partnership fit into your vision for Africa's energy in the future? I think the beauty of it is that it's really a common single vision and it's important to note that Power Africa, which was launched two and a half years by President Obama for many of the same reasons that you've just described. It's possible to do it. The deficit in energy is the deficit across the development spectrum and we've got willing and very able partners. The African Development Bank was a partner from the very launch of Power Africa. Now, I think what we've seen in Power Africa exceeded our expectations. We have been able to mobilize over 30 billion dollars in private sector commitments. These are private sector investors that want to invest in Africa's energy sector and 10 billion dollars in public funds. Other countries, Sweden, for example, the EU, are partners in the AFTB and the World Bank. It's clear that there's the interest and I think what we've seen in what the African Development Bank will be able to do here is build on the fact that there's a political commitment, that there are obstacles, but there is a willingness to surmount those obstacles, whether it's the reforms or an increased commitment in the budget and there are willing investors. We are thrilled that the AFTB is launching this initiative. We intend to work very, very closely together and I think what the evidence shows in terms of Power Africa and now this initiative and some others that are out there, this is an idea whose time has come and I think the interest and will are conjoined here to see the results that we all envision. So, we're thrilled and congratulations. Thank you. Now, and we're mindful you have to leave shortly. Yes, please do not take this as an indication of anything other than I have a crazy schedule with my apologies. We thank you for joining us. I wish to assure you we have three great leaders here to take questions. We didn't have a huge amount of time. Could we have a show of hands, please? See who would like to ask anything. OK, we have one over there. Anybody else? OK, so two here. So, OK, we'll go for Francis. Can I have a microphone over here, please? The microphone's gone missing. Francis, would you mind shouting, please? How's your voice today? OK. Francis has heard from SABC in South Africa. OK. So, for the benefit of the audience, we didn't have a microphone. There are three questions here. How many countries have signed up to this partnership already? What kind of commitment have you got? The implications for South Africa and also the implications for green energy when, obviously, on the practical level there are still challenges with that technology. Gentlemen here in the front row, we'll take your question, too. Please, again, would you mind shouting? It seems to have a microphone problem. And then maybe we'll take all these questions at the same time. As a climate negative, so to speak, coal power stations or dam for that matter in terms of the environmental damage that they may cause. And at the same time, we know that there's a funding issue. Obviously, there's a financing for development and commitments, but African countries are constrained in terms of funding. So they need to go for certain types of energy which are less costly than the renewables. So this is a question on the mix and whether there is any pressure to rely on traditional sources, more than renewable sources. In the short term. In the short term. Ms. President. Yeah. Thank you very much. I think first and foremost in terms of the number of countries, you know, all African countries agreed around the Africa Power Vision. You know, that Africa basically is tired of being in the dark. I think, as Ms. Sarang was saying, you know, without power you have no economic growth. It's like blood in your body. If you don't have it, you don't have life. Lack of that electricity costs Africa today. Over 4 percent of GDP is cut off just because of that. So all African countries agree that this is the top most issue that we must do. And in trying to fix that, it will allow us to industrialize. It will allow these small and million-sized enterprises to grow. It will allow kids to go to school and be able to read and therefore be part of the fourth industrial revolution that everybody's talking about. And at the end of the day, it will also make Africa a wide competitor in global market for many other things. So this is something that we all agree. African leaders agree. Now, yesterday when we launched Transformity Partnership on Energy, we had several African presidents there. That's by how cold it is here. Mr. Anand was there. The president of, the prime minister was there. President Ogini was there. The president of Rwanda was there. And so was Prime Minister of Ethiopia was there. So all the African leaders are actually here. And that just tells you the level of political and commitment to this Transformity Partnership on energy. We want things to be done faster at scale and together. That's the message. Now, when it comes to the issue of the South Africa, we also think that, and Mr. Anand mentioned this also, that it's important to look at regional energy systems. You know, so we have Grand Inga that it's there. We've got South Africa, Escom that's very important for the countries that are all across the Sahara region. So we need to also fund and we will support regional energy efforts that will solve many countries. And on the mix of energy, Africa cannot develop with what it doesn't have. It can only develop with what it has. The energy endowments in South Africa region is different, right? So you've got a lot of, you've got coal in that Southern Africa region. You also have a lot more the South Africa is doing in terms of solar, which is renewable energy coming in more and more. You've got a Central Africa region. A lot of it is all around hydro. So most of the big hydros are there. You go to West Africa, it's all around gas and also the hydro. And so we are going to actually have a Transformity Partnership on energy that is technology neutral. But I think Mr. Anand said it right is that Africa can also go green. So we are going to accelerate a lot of investments in renewable energy, which is very significant. And on the issue of, one last thing, just one point I want to say is on the financing issue. You know, the African Development Bank over the last 10 years has put in about $34 billion into infrastructure. You know, energy being a significant component and also roads and so on. What we want in the next five years, we are planning to put in $12 billion into energy sector. And that we will also use it to help de-risk the financial markets so that we can leverage about $40 to $50 billion into this particular sector. Thank you. Just to add on, I think when the Prime Minister of Africa spoke, he indicated efforts to move towards renewables, relying on the judicious mix they have now, using geothermal and hydro and increasing the renewable portion of the energy generation as we go ahead. And that really is going to be the strategy of most of the African countries. And I think the President Adesanya is right when he said you have to rely on what you have to move forward and then improve as we go forward. This would also require that governments come up with the right policies, right policies that create the regulatory environment that attracts foreign investments. We need investments, we need private sector investments to play a role. It's not an area where the governments are going to do it alone or where one is going to rely on international economic assistance to do this. And so it's a new ball game. And I think the governments realize that policy has to be part of the revolutionary transformation that we are talking about. I'll make it, we have two minutes left. So shame to not lose these leaders' time. Do we have any more questions? We've got time for one more. Okay, in the absence of one, if I may, I'll play my wild card and ask you a question of my own. You mentioned public-private partnerships. Can you give us some insights into the support from the private sector, Mr. President? The President, as part of the transformative partnership on energy for Africa, is the Africa Energy Leaders Group, which is the group of African leaders, mostly private sector people that are involved. And I think, as Mr. Ana said, just take a look at how much this is going to take. We have to commit roughly about almost 40 to 70 billion dollars to the sector to solve this particular problem. But the money is actually there. And so if you take a look in Africa today of total pension funds that we have, it's $1 trillion. Solving well funds, about $343 billion. All this money is in private hands. So it's actually the role of the bank for us. And working with others, World Bank and everybody else, is to de-risk the investments into the energy sector. A lot more to make sure that when people are investing, things like partial risk guarantees will be provided, credit enhancements, facilities will be provided, and that we are also going to help to deal with some of the political risk. We also make sure that people don't want to do some of these things in terms of how they are money. So private sector is going to play a very big role. So the transformative partnership on energy for Africa is really, Mr. Ana said it right, it's actually getting the public and the private sector. The public sector set the enabling environment, the regulations, the pricing of energy and making sure that that is actually right. And the private sector making sure that we can actually de-risk that and integrate that into it. So it's actually quite transformational and we are very delighted that this is the direction that Africa needs to go. We all have to go together. Mr. President, Mr. Chairman, Mr. Prime Minister please. Maybe what I would like to say to give an example of the participation by the private sector to finance the energy sector, I will take the case of Vokodiwa where there are two main thermal power plants, Asito and Cypril. The financing is about $500 million that has been totally financed by the private sector. If you make to put in place the regulatory framework, if you improve the way to do business in the country, well there's no problem of financing. Vokodiwa has been ranked among the ten best reformer in the world. According to the doing business of the World Bank and in that case there is no problem of financing. When I mentioned that we are to double the capacity of production in Kodiwa going from 2,000 megawatt to 4,000 megawatt that we totally finance by the private sector and there is no problem. We have an international tender, there's a lot of competitors and just that's all. Of course a fine record in attracting foreign investment. Gentlemen, thank you very much for joining us. This session is now over. Thank you all for joining us as well. Thank you. I just want you with the press to remain engaged and be chunkiest too. Thanks.