The African Caucus has reiterated the call of Heads of State to donor countries for an ambitious and robust IDA21 replenishment target of US$120 billion to combat persistent and emerging challenges like climate change, food insecurity, energy deficit, and fragility.
The Caucus also called on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Group to ensure that their support to member countries continues to be guided by principles of balance and evenhandedness, and consistent with their own policies.
The Governors underlined four key pathways to boosting intra-Africa trade, namely: strengthening pan African payment ecosystem, enhancing energy access, affordability, and connectivity; leveraging partnerships with MDBs, and reforming global financial architecture.
The call was made at the end of a three-day 2024 African Caucus Meeting held in Abuja at the weekend, jointly hosted by the Federal Ministry of Finance and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The meeting recognised the importance of intra-African trade in unlocking production, investments, and jobs in Africa, noting that African countries continue to trade with the rest of the world more than among themselves.
The meeting agreed that addressing both tariff and non-tariff barriers to intra-African trade, including fragmented payment ecosystems, poor energy access, lack of infrastructure, inconsistent regulatory frameworks, and divergent cross-border procedures, was critical to bolstering Africa’s share of global trade and stimulating sustainable and inclusive growth in the continent.
Also, the meeting underscored the point that trade could stimulate economic growth by creating opportunities for increased production, investment, and job creation, stressing that it provides access to larger markets, new technologies, and capital.
The meeting rationalised that these considerations are more important at a time when countries are being assailed by adverse exogenous shocks and facing immense financing needs.
The gathering took place amid a synchronised global economic slowdown, with global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth decelerating due to monetary tightening in developing countries and disruptions in global supply chains, exacerbated by geopolitical tensions, including the Ukraine and Palestinian crises.
These factors, the meeting noted, further strain development prospects, and despite Africa’s remarkable resilience, evidenced by its GDP growth, intra-African trade remains relatively low, accounting for only about 14.4 percent of total African exports.
The meeting resolved to deliver the outcomes of the 2024 African Caucus deliberations after summarising in a Memorandum to the Heads of the Bretton Woods Institutions (BWIs) in October 2024, during the Annual Meetings of the IMF and the WBG, in Washington, USA.
The theme for the 2024 Caucus Meeting , “Facilitating Intra-African Trade: Catalyst for Sustainable Development in Africa”, identified major drivers for growth and development across the continent.
The meeting attracted Ministers and Governors of Central Banks from 50 African Countries and other panelists, including the Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations, Mrs Amina Mohammed; Secretary General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Wamkele Keabetswe Mene; the Rt. Hon. Lord Paul Boateng of the UK House of Lords, members of the Federal Executive Council, as well as country delegates from across Africa and beyond, including representatives from BWIs.
The African Caucus was established in 1963 to strengthen the voice of African Governors to the issues of mutual interest for Africa, and membership of the Caucus is open to all African countries that are members of the African Union (AU). Currently, all 54 African countries are members of the IMF and WBG.
The countries are represented by their respective Ministers of Finance and Governors of the Central Bank or by other officials designated as such by the governments. They are called African Governors for the IMF and the WBG.
During the Caucus Meetings, African Governors usually build consensus on the key challenges affecting the continent that require the BWIs’ attention and communicate the same in a Memorandum to the Heads of the BWIs at the Annual Meetings.
Once delivered, the leadership of the BWIs responds by outlining how their respective institutions plan to address these challenges, including ongoing efforts in this direction.
The first, such as memorandum, dates back to September 11, 1964.
The Chairmanship of the African Caucus is rotational on an annual basis.
The Caucus meets twice a year, and the first meeting is held in the host country of the Chairperson of the Caucus, generally between the last week of July and the first week of August.
The second meeting takes place in October at the venue of the Annual Meetings of the IMF and WBG. The Offices of the Executive Directors (EDs) representing the host country on the IMF and WBG Boards serve jointly as secretariat for the African Caucus.
Administrative support for the 2024 Caucus Meetings is therefore provided by the Offices of Executive Director Africa Group 3 at the World Bank Group (WBG) and Office of the Executive Director African English at the IMF, where Ayanda Dlodlo and Willie Nukunyanda represents Nigeria at the WBG and IMF, respectively.
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