UK is committed to supporting the delivery of green finance across Africa, Minister of State for International Development, Andrew Mitchell has said.

This is contained in a statement signed by Ndidiamaka Eze, Senior Press and Public Affairs Officer, British Deputy High Commission on Friday in Lagos.

Mitchell, made the pledge during the African Development Bank’s (AfDB) Annual Meetings in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

The minister outlined the UK’s commitment to reform the international financial system so that it can deliver the green finance needed to fight extreme poverty and tackle climate change.

Mitchell said that the two billion dollar Room-to-Run guarantee, which the UK announced at COP26, has unlocked funding for two new climate-resilient water infrastructure projects in Egypt and Senegal.

 “Countries across Africa are facing some of the most devastating impacts of climate change but historically have received only a small proportion of the green finance available.

“The UK is committed to changing that through our agenda to reform the International Financial System and support the African Development Bank’s vital work.

“Egypt is a close partner for the UK and I was delighted to be able to meet with Ambassador Loza to thank him for Egypt’s support in evacuating British Nationals from Sudan,” Mitchell said.

The project in Egypt, worth almost 70 million pounds will expand the capacity of a water treatment plant so it could provide clean recycled water to serve 70,000 acres of new arable land, benefiting 5 million more people than at present.

Mitchell said that in Senegal, funding worth more than 16 million pounds would support a project to improve access to clean water and sanitation services to 1.45 million people through the creation of more than 13,000 new latrines, five surface water treatment plants, and a 70-kilometer sewage network which will serve more than 250,000 households.

The minister also met with AfDB President, Akinwumi Adesina and counterparts from Ghana, Senegal, Egypt, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Somalia to discuss how to ensure that finance from the Bank can reach countries at risk of climate-related disasters more quickly and effectively.

The minister in April set out a new vision for the UK’s international development work.

He said that the climate and development crises “are not a choice, but two sides of the same coin which need to be resolved together.”