Sidi,

Your picture with IMF MD Horst Kohler and Nigerian Senator Kura Muhammad is a
good one.
Keep up the good work for Africa.

Beran



allAfrica.com </publishers.html?passed_name=allAfrica.com&passed_location=empty>

October 30, 2000
Tamela Hultman
Washington DC
Addressing head-on the common perception that Africa is hopelessly mired in
poverty and strife, the top official of the International Monetary Fund says
that Africa has the capacity to solve its problems.
In a speech that opened the Africa Forum 2000 in Washington DC, IMF Managing
Director Horst Kohler said Africa can solve its "homemade" problems of
corruption and conflict. But he linked the ability to do so to "faster, stronger
and better institutional support" from the world community. To obtain that
support, however, African nations must put into place the framework of good
governance, fair and accessible judicial systems, a consistent and transparent
regulatory framework and, most of all, a commitment to private sector
development, Kohler said.
He acknowledged the "downside elements of globalization" and said they must be
addressed, but he insisted that unless Africa is integrated into the global
community in a considered and sequenced approach, the continent will not be able
to achieve sustainable growth.
"We should not think Africa is lost," Kohler said. After visiting six African
nations in July, he found many reasons to be hopeful, among them the initiatives
of women. Despite formidable challenges he said, women "still worked
productively. They tried to solve problems. They didn't complain. They worked."
Even managing directors of international institutions need encouragement now and
then, Kohler said, and he found it among Africa's women.
The IMF chief said he is returning to Africa in February with World Bank
President James Wolfensohn. The visits, and the increasing attention the sister
organizations will be paying to African poverty issues, he said, show that
"there is commitment on our side."
Joining Kohler in cutting the ribbon that formally opened the conference was Sue
Esserman, the Deputy US Trade Representative, who read a statement by President
Bill Clinton <http://allafrica.com/stories/200010300407.html> . Strengthening
the American partnership with Africa has been one of the administration's top
priorities, the statement said.
The Forum is a five-day gathering sponsored by the World Bank Group-IMF Africa
Club, an association of African and Africa-interested staff of the international
financial organizations. Forum Coordinator Eric Chinje told journalists,
dignitaries and conference participants at the opening ceremonies that the event
is designed to support African economies by providing multiple platforms for
sharing information on critical issues, including trade, procurement, investment
and funding.
The Club scheduled Forum sessions on a range of issues including information
technology, infrastructure, energy, agribusiness, and health and
pharmaceuticals. In response to Africa's one-dimensional media image - as well
as the economic role cultural products can play - the Forum is also presenting
arts and artisanal productions, from documentaries and films to handicrafts.

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