The African Development Bank (AfDB) will receive a grant of €6 million from the Netherlands’ Ministry for Trade and Development Cooperation, which aims to provide legal and technical services to low-income countries in Africa to give them more clout in commercial dealings.

The AfDB said in a statement that the grant is directed to the bank’s African Legal Support Facility (ALSF), to support its work in this regard and will be disbursed over a three-year period.

 ALSF Director Stephen Karangizi said that the funding will help the ALSF to better respond to the impacts of COVID-19 and help countries to recover much faster to enhance sustainable, inclusive development in Africa.

Since 2013, the Netherlands has cumulatively provided €15.5 million to the ALSF to ensure that African countries achieve maximum economic value for their resources, according to the AfDB.

It added that the funds provided by the Netherlands enabled the ALSF to successfully assist many African governments to strengthen their legal expertise and negotiating capacities, particularly in the areas of natural resources and extractives.

Created by the AfDB in 2010, the ALSF supports governments in negotiating major commercial transactions, providing legal and technical assistance in public-private partnership projects across the oil and gas, mining, and energy sectors, and covering sovereign debt issues and creditor litigation.

The facility has supported African governments to negotiate 53 key commercial contracts valued at $97.8 billion.