This knowledge event will present the key findings of the AEO 2024, including:

(i) Africa’s economic performance and outlook in the short and medium terms;

(ii) Africa’s financing needs to accelerate structural transformation;

(iii) opportunities and barriers to fast-track structural transformation in Africa;

(iv) implementable strategies, policies, and actions required to accelerate the pace of Africa’s structural transformation;

(v) the linkages between Africa’s transformation efforts and the international financial architecture and the impact of the latter on the continent’s economic achievements;

(vi) the expected impacts of proposed reforms of the international financial architecture on Africa’s transformation; and vi) specific roles development financial institutions (DFIs) and multilateral development banks (MDBs) in general, and the Bank in particular, could play in supporting African countries to speed up their economic transformation.

The proposed event will provide an opportunity for Bank Governors, high-level Stakeholders, and other participants to share their views on the relevance of the key findings and the soundness of policy recommendations contained in the report and benchmark them against their own (country’s) experience. The event aims at initiating an informed and thought-provoking debate on out-of-the-box solutions proposed by the report on what it will take for African countries to step up their structural transformation process, and how a reconfigured global financial architecture can help facilitate the achievement of this goal.

 

Welcome and Introduction:

Moderator:

1. Solomon Mugera, Director, Communication and External Relations

Opening Remarks:

2. Akinwumi Adesina, President, African Development Bank Group.

Presentation of the 2024 AEO Key Highlights:

3. Prof. Kevin Chika Urama, Chief Economist and Vice President for Economic Governance and Knowledge Management, African Development Bank Group.

Proposed Panelists

1. Prof. Njuguna Ndung’u, Cabinet Secretary National Treasury & Economic Planning and Governor for Kenya.
2. Prof. Mthuli Ncube, Minister of Finance and Economic Development and Governor for Zimbabwe
3. Bärbel Kofler, Parliamentary State Secretary, Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and Governor for Germany.
4. Rania A. Al-Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation, and Alternate Governor for Egypt
5. Alexia Latortue, Assistant Secretary for International Trade and Development, U.S. Treasury.
6. E. Ms. Nardos Bekele-Thomas, Chief Executive Officer, AUDA-NEPAD
7. Victoria Kwakwa, Vice President for Eastern & Southern Africa, The World Bank
8. E. Amb. Albert Muchanga, Commissioner for Economic Development, Tourism, Trade, Industry, and Mining, African Union Commission.
9. E. Mr. Ismael Nabe, Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, Conakry - Republic of Guinea.
10. Kenneth Ofori-Atta, former Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, Ghana
11. E Mr. Claver Gatete, Executive Secretary, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, represented by Ms. Hanan Morsy, Deputy Executive Secretary (Programme) and Chief Economist, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
12. Abdulhamid Alkhalifa, President, OPEC Fund