By the BBC Business Correspondent Andrew Walker:

Delegates gathering in Abidjan do have something to celebrate. The bank says in its annual report that four out of five African countries achieved modest growth in income per person last year.

Overall, African economies grew by 3.7%, which was faster than Japan or western Europe. It is a striking contrast with many years of economies growing more slowly than the population - with living standards declining.

But the report does dwell on Africa's continuing deep problems. Almost half the population lives in absolute poverty, on less than a dollar a day.

The most controversial discussions at the annual meeting are however likely to be about the Bank's capital structure. African countries account for two thirds of the bank's capital.

The non-African members, mostly developed industrial countries, are willing to inject new capital. But they want more influence.

Some are motivated partly by a desire to prevent the internal conflict that has plagued the Bank in the past, although they think there has been huge progress under the current president, Omar Kabbaj.

One option that has been floated would divide the Bank's capital equally between African and other countries. It would also increase total capital which would help the Bank expand its lending operations.