# Mauritania’s former economy minister Sidi Ould Tah was elected new president of the African Development Bank and tackle the withdrawal of US financing from the institution. The winner had to secure both a majority of votes from all 81 member countries and a majority of votes from the 54 African nations who are part of the bank. In his pitch for the leadership, he vowed to strengthen regional financial institutions, assert Africa’s financial independence on global markets, use population growth as a development lever, and build climate change-resistant infrastructure.
Mauritanian elected new president of African Development Bank