March 10–11, 2009.
As Africa and its partners navigate the financial storm together, preserving the continent’s significant achievements of the past decade and sustaining efforts to strengthen growth and reach the Millennium Development Goals are paramount. The responsibility to implement sound policies rests with African countries themselves. But the international community must stand ready to help.
To discuss these challenges, President Kikwete of Tanzania and Mr. Strauss-Kahn, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, will jointly host a conference in Dar es Salaam on March 10–11, 2009. This conference will bring together some 300 participants—policymakers from all over Africa and beyond, as well as representatives of the private sector, civil society, and private foundations to address both the immediate crisis and longer-term challenges, with the common goal of forging a renewed partnership for growth in Africa.
Africa is changing and successes there and elsewhere can provide valuable lessons. The past decade has seen a marked improvement in economic performance across Africa, with a significant impact on poverty reduction. The global demand for primary commodities, greater capital flows, and debt relief have helped. But successes have also reflected robust policy frameworks designed and implemented with strong ownership and with the support of the IMF and other partners.
Yet the current global financial turmoil presents an unprecedented challenge for African policy makers. The task will be to draw on past achievements to ensure that Africa not only weathers the storm, but emerges from it stronger. The key long-term challenge is to raise pro-poor growth by seizing opportunities of additional resources and increased integration into the global economy, and addressing the pressing needs to improve infrastructure, agricultural production, economic diversification, health, and education. The conference in Tanzania will focus on how policy frameworks will need to change in order to make the best of these opportunities and to shape a successful future for Africa in the 21st century.