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60th Anniversary of International Monetary Fund African Department Conference

60th Anniversary of International Monetary Fund African Department Conference

Date: Wednesday, December 15, 2021

Time: 8:30 AM -11:25 AM EST


Agenda:

8:30AM-8:40AM

Welcome remarks: Antoinette Sayeh (Deputy Managing Director, IMF)


8:30AM-9:55AM

IMF and Africa: Sixty Years of Africa’s Development

IMF African Department Director Abebe Aemro Selassie chairs a roundtable of distinguished panelists for a discussion on economic development in sub-Saharan Africa over the past decades, and the IMF’s evolving role on the continent.

ModeratorAbebe Aemro Selassie (Director, African Department, IMF)

Panelists:

  • Adama Coulibaly (Minister of Economy and Finance, Côte d’Ivoire)

  • Donald Kaberuka (Former President, African Development Bank)

  • Peter Kamalingin (Pan Africa Director, Oxfam)

  • Ngozi Okonjo-Iwaela (Director-General, WTO)



10:05AM-11:25AM

Perspectives on the Future of Africa in a Post-Pandemic World

IMF Deputy Managing Director Bo Li chairs a roundtable of experts to discuss future perspectives on Africa from many dimensions, including economic development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), climate change adaptation, gender equality, political perspectives, and social achievements.

Moderator: Bo Li (Deputy Managing Director, IMF)

Panelists:

  • Deborah Brautigam (Director, John Hopkins China-Africa Research Initiative)

  • Vera Daves de Sousa (Minister of Finance, Angola)

  • Yaw Nyarko (Professor of Economics, New York University)

  • Charles Robertson (Chief Economist, Renaissance Capital)

  • Vera Songwe (Executive Secretary, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa)


About the International Monetary Fund’s Africa Department

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an organization of 190 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world. IMF’s African Department was created exactly 60 years ago.

Participants will explore the ways that Africa, the IMF, and the African Department have evolved over the past 60 years. The discussion will focus on IMF programs in Africa, greater transparency, enhanced policy dialogue and capacity development. Panelists will include sub-Saharan African policy makers, politicians, financiers, academics, and civil society representatives.