A delegation from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, made up of representatives from the Treasury and External Finance Department, took part in the work of the 2024 African Caucus Meeting, organized from August 1 to 3, 2024, in Abuja, Nigeria, under the theme: "Facilitating inter-African trade: a catalyst for sustainable development in Africa".
At the Meeting, the African Governors, Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors of the 54 African member countries of the World Bank Group (WBG) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF)) highlighted four key avenues for boosting inter-African trade. This Includes namely: (i) strengthening the pan-African payments ecosystem and accelerating digitization, (ii) improving access to energy and connectivity in Africa; (iii) leveraging partnerships with multilateral development banks; and (iv) reforming the global financial architecture.
In this context, the African Governors appealed to the WBG and the IMF to address their financial and development needs in the areas of trade policy, notably inter-African trade, the digital revolution, and energy access and affordability. This is achieved by deploying expertise and financial resources to strengthen pan-African payment ecosystems, facilitate energy access and connectivity to serve as a catalyst for accelerating inter-African trade and sustainable development in Africa.
The African Governors also reiterated their Heads of State's call to donor countries for an ambitious and robust replenishment of IDA21, with a target of $120 billion to tackle persistent and emerging challenges such as climate change, food insecurity, energy deficit, water, digital transformation, regional integration and fragility.
At the end of the discussions, a memorandum was prepared, summarizing the views and concerns of the African Governors, which will be presented to the Chairman of the WBG and the Managing Director of the IMF during the Annual Meetings of these two institutions in October 2024, in Washington.