Africa Resilience Forum Partnership
The Africa Resilience Forum 2025 concluded in Abidjan with a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The agreement strengthens cooperation in migration governance, diaspora engagement, and internal displacement response, positioning migration as a driver of peace and inclusive development across the continent.
AfDB Vice President Nnenna Nwabufo stressed that migration, when managed effectively, is “a powerful driver of resilience” rather than a crisis to contain. She said the agreement aligns with AfDB President Sidi Ould Tah’s vision to address fragility and build long-term stability. IOM Chief of Staff Mohamed Abdiker highlighted the value of combining AfDB’s financial expertise with IOM’s field presence, ensuring that women, youth, and vulnerable groups remain central to Africa’s transformation agenda.
Africa Resilience Foru Highlights
The Africa Resilience Forum programme included sessions on food security, youth entrepreneurship, climate-peace linkages, private sector investment in fragile contexts, and the role of artificial intelligence in peacebuilding. Strategic partners from the UN, OECD, Red Cross, civil society, and the private sector joined in to advance joint actions across shared priorities.
This year’s theme, “Prioritising Prevention: Financing Peace in a Changing Development Cooperation Landscape”, shifted focus from reactive crisis response to proactive prevention. “We must move from managing crises to anticipating and mitigating risks before they escalate,” Nwabufo said, underlining the importance of collective resolve and investment in peace.
Africa Resilience Forum Outcomes
The Africa Resilience Forum reaffirmed the need for anticipatory prevention, stronger partnerships, and coordinated action to address Africa’s fragility challenges. AfDB’s Yero Baldeh, Director of the Transition States Coordination Office, concluded by noting that “prevention is possible, peace is investable, and Africa is ready.”
The forum closed with a dedicated partnership day, offering deeper dialogue and action planning at AfDB headquarters. The MOU between AfDB and IOM is expected to accelerate solutions that connect migration governance with Africa’s wider development and resilience agenda.
