Ministers in charge of finance, planning and economic development, will explore financial options for economic recovery in Africa next week, says the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).
Senegal’s capital will host the 54th hybrid session of the ECA Conference of ministers (CoM2022) for a week, beginning from May 11, 2022.
Leading figures from the private and public sectors will join the ministers in the discussions on the theme “Financing Africa’s Recovery: Breaking New Ground.”
Africa’s economic recovery was on ‘surprising upside’ in the second half of 2021, prompting the International Monetary Fund to revise its estimated growth, from 3.7 to 4.5%.
Also read: Ethiopian MRO begins converting passenger plane to cargo
This year, however, that progress has been jeopardized by the current geopolitical tensions that triggered a global economic shock.
This has hit the region at a time when countries’ policy space to respond to it is minimal to nonexistent, according to the IMF’s regional economic outlook.
“Most notably, surging oil and food prices are straining the external and fiscal balances of commodity-importing countries and have increased food security concerns in the region,” it said.
The shock compounds some of the region’s most pressing policy challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic’s social and economic legacy.
Also read: Ethiopia approves BGI Meta Brewery acquisition
Next Week, African economic ministers will discuss how to transform the continued threat of the COVD-19 pandemic into an accelerator of growth and global prosperity, said the co-organizer ECA.
President Macky Sall of Senegal, who currently holds the presidency of the African Union, is among the confirmed speakers.
CoM2022 will also feature the launch of ECA’s annual flagship Economic Report on Africa.
