The African Development Bank (AfDB) announced on Sunday its willingness to contribute resources and expertise to help rebuild the infrastructure affected by the earthquake that struck Morocco on Friday.

In a statement following the earthquake in Morocco, whose death toll exceeds 2,100, the president of the AfDB, Akinwumi Adesina, said that "I would like to assure His Majesty King Mohammed VI and the people of the Kingdom of Morocco that the African Development Bank Group stands ready to contribute resources and expertise to help rebuild the affected infrastructure in the communities".

He said that the AfDB's teams are on the ground and guaranteed that the African Development Bank "is ready to provide much-needed support".

Akinwumi Adesina stresses that the African Development Bank is prioritizing support for the protection of health facilities and the provision of drinking water in order to avoid further difficulties.

"The earthquake that struck Morocco on Friday night, September 8, 2023, was devastating. With more than two thousand people dead and hundreds injured, it brought great sadness and indescribable hardship to many families who lost their loved ones. The nation and the people of Morocco have been affected by great pain," says the president of the AfDB, expressing his "shock and deep anguish at the heavy loss of life in this tragedy".

In the statement, Akinwumi Adesina offers her "deepest condolences" to King Mohammed VI, the Government of the Kingdom of Morocco and all the families who "mourn the loss of their loved ones".

"Words can hardly convey our shared sense of grief and loss," he said, wishing the injured "a speedy recovery".

The latest provisional toll from the earthquake that hit Morocco on Friday night was 2,122 dead and 2,421 injured, according to the Moroccan Interior Ministry.

The earthquake, whose epicenter was in the town of Ighil, 63 kilometers southwest of the city of Marrakech, was felt in Portugal and Spain and reached a magnitude of 7.0 on the Richter scale, according to Morocco's National Geophysics Institute.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) recorded the magnitude of the earthquake at 6.8.