Ambassador Nipa briefed the BOAD representatives on Thailand’s foreign policy towards Africa, particularly the Thailand-Africa Initiative (TAI), as well as the programme of the 2026 IMF-WBG Annual Meetings. Thailand takes great pride in hosting this important international gathering for the second time, following the first hosting in 1991. She highlighted the overarching theme, “Thailand’s New Horizons: Empowering People, Building Resilience,”and the four key pillars of the Meetings: (1) Digital and AI Transformation (2) Opportunities for Middle Powers (3) Climate Change Adaptation and (4) Demographic Change.

The Ambassador also presented relevant initiatives of the Royal Thai Embassy, as well as the programmes and activities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Royal Thai Government in the areas of finance, banking and development cooperation, both domestically and internationally. She encouraged BOAD to engage with relevant Thai counterparts during the visit in order to explore opportunities for establishing networks and developing future cooperation.

Mr. Diop highlighted several priority areas in which BOAD is interested in pursuing cooperation with Thailand, including energy, food security, infrastructure, technological development, public health and education. He expressed BOAD’s interest in engaging with Thai government agencies and private-sector institutions, particularly the Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA), specialised financial institutions and other financial institutions, to explore potential avenues for development-finance cooperation between Thailand and Senegal, as well as other countries in West Africa.

The West African Development Bank (BOAD) is the regional development finance institution of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), comprising the eight countries that use the CFA franc: Senegal, Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger and Togo. Established in 1973 and commencing operations in 1976, BOAD is headquartered in Lomé, Togo. Its mission is to promote balanced economic development and regional integration by providing financing for public- and private-sector projects across WAEMU member states.