De Rato continues listening tour

• Pages: 274-275

Page 274

De Rato returned to sub- Saharan Africa for a second visit in a month, at the invitation of Burkina Faso's President Blaise Compaoré to attend the African Union's Extraordinary Summit on Employment and Poverty Reduction in Africa, held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, on September 8-9 and attended by the heads of state of 17 African countries. In his address to the summit, de Rato identified three priority areas for the IMF in the region: making IMF financial assistance more flexible and responsive; sharpening the IMF's role in countries that do not need the institution's financial assistance, including through timely and high-quality policy advice, as well as through technical assistance and capacity building; and reinforcing the IMF's analysis and assistance in support of Africa's regional integration initiatives.

On the sidelines of the summit, de Rato met individually with nine heads of state or government to listen firsthand to the challenges they face and their views on what the IMF can do to combat poverty on the continent. At the end of the visit, he remarked that by meeting nearly one-half of the leaders in Africa during his two visits to the region, he had met the goal he had set for himself of consulting widely in Africa.

Prior to visiting Burkina Faso, de Rato held meetings in South Africa on September 6-7 with President Thabo Mbeki and his economic team, as well as with business leaders and other representatives of civil society. While discussions focused on economic conditions in South Africa, de Rato also explored South African perspectives on various pan-African initiatives, including the New Partnership for Africa's Development and the African Union. He exchanged views with Mbeki and others on the impressive strides South Africa has made in rebuilding its economy since its first democratic elections in 1994, while noting that growth will need to rise to a higher plateau in order to significantly reduce unemployment. "In our discussions, the authorities raised again their desire to see greater voice and representation for African countries in the Bretton Woods institutions," de Rato said.

During the previous week, de Rato had visited South America for the first time as Managing Director. On August 31, he met with Argentine President Néstor Kirchner and other senior officials, remarking that discussions "revealed many common understandings on the economic policy priorities that lie ahead." He said that the main goal...