African Caucus meetings in Khartoum
04 September, 2014Khartoum (SUDANOW)—The African ministers of finance and governors of the central banks Caucus in the World Bank (WB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) conclude today their two-day meetings in the Friendship Hall of Khartoum.
The meeting, which is held here for the second consecutive year, reviewed the African policies and programmes to achieve comprehensive development, the regional integration projects in fields of energy, infrastructure, the African Green Wall and agriculture and the WB and IMF terms for financing these plans and projects.
Present at the meeting were the IMF deputy head of Africa Department Abebe Selassie and WB's Vice President for Africa region Makhtar Diop, representatives of BRICS bank, African Development Bank and other international financial institutions.
The host country chairs the Caucus and thus the Sudanese Finance Minister, who is the Sudan’s member of the Board of Governors of the WB and IMF, presides over the Caucus meetings in Khartoum during 2013-2014.
The Finance Minister Badr al-Dinn Mahmoud called at the opening session for listing priorities for development which helps alleviate poverty and curb unemployment in Africa.
He called for consideration of the technical conditions, instead of political condition, for the possibilities of writing the international debts on African countries indicating that some of the demands raised by the African Caucus last meeting received a response from the IMF and WB while others, such as supporting Africa's voice and representation at the IMF's Executive Council, are still pending.
Also speaking at the opening meeting, First Vice President Lt. Gen. Bakry Hassan Salih urged the WB and IMF to find a way for settlement of the debts of Sudan and other African countries. He said the debts place an unaffordable burden for the people, particularly the poor ones, as the debts lead to price hikes.
He called upon the African countries to open their borders and markets to each other for activation of the border trade, pointing to the Sudan’s position and land roads linking the country to neighboring African countries.
The opening session was also addressed by Chad’s Finance Minister, on behalf of the other African ministers, and by the Finance Minister of South Sudan.
The meeting recommendations will be included in the Khartoum Declaration and a memo to the two international financial institutions.
Outcome of the African Caucus meetings, however, is being doubted by many African economists. The Sudanese economist, Dr. Mohamed al-Nayr, noted in remarks to Sudan News Agency (SUNA) that the meetings until now have not achieved the required aims and, although they are being held in Sudan, have done nothing with regard writing off the debts and removing the economic sanctions on Sudan. The Caucus has not formed a group of pressure on the international financing institutions, although the Sudan has fulfilled all of the commitments placed on it for pardoning the debts and lifting the sanctions.
Dr. Abdul Azim al-Mahal, another Sudanese economist, wished that the Caucus would come out with a strong memorandum demanding writing off the debts on Sudan and South Sudan.
He also wished that the Caucus meetings would support a bid for normalization of relations between the Sudan and the international financial institutions, including Paris Club. Those institutions will hopefully take into consideration the humanitarian situation and bear in mind reports by UN agencies indicating the presence of 3 million children in the Sudan suffering malnutrition as a result of the economic sanctions being imposed on the country.
Mas/ As
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