Leaders from the African Caucus and the International Monetary Fund met at IMF headquarters in Washington, D.C. Monday to discuss the African economy.
The meeting was held as part of the annual gathering of the African Consultative Group, which assembles the fund governors for 15 African countries to facilitate conversation between the IMF and African Caucus countries on financial issues.
Following the meeting, African Caucus Chairman Abdoulaye Bio-Tchané and IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde issued a statement summarizing their areas of agreement about the next steps for Africa's economy.
“Beyond immediate policy reactions, we agreed on the need to reinvigorate the economic diversification agenda," Bio-Tchané and Lagarde said. "Stepped-up structural reforms to improve the business environment as well as labor and financial markets and opening to trade are critical for boosting economic prospects, creating jobs, and improving living standards.”
The pair also said they expected slumping commodity process to become a medium-term market condition and called for African countries to consolidate and prioritize spending, open trade. The pair also called on the IMF to consider increasing funding and occasional interventions to protect the stability of African economies.
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