Mauritania’s Sidi Ould Tah Elected as Ninth President of African Development Bank

Sidi Ould Tah, a Mauritanian economist with decades of experience and former director of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), was elected as the AfDB's ninth president. He won 76.18% of the votes after three rounds at the bank's annual meeting in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, edging out his competitors, which included Zambia's Samuel Maimbo and Senegal's Amadou Hott.

Tah, who is a former Minister of Economy and Finance in Mauritania, possesses rich development finance experience. His period of service at BADEA was marked by far-reaching reforms and improved credit rating.

Assuming office on September 1, Tah has to fight with an initial array of challenges, including the reduction by $555 million by the U.S. of support to the African Development Fund (ADF), which serves over 30 of the poorest nations in the continent. He aims to increase cooperation with Gulf states and others to enhance the development of Africa's infrastructure.