Finance Minister leads delegation to IMF/World Bank Annual Meeting

Ken Ofori-Atta, the Minister of Finance, is leading Ghana’s delegation to the IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings in Washington DC, from October 14 to 20.

The delegation includes the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, the Chairman of the Finance Committee in Parliament, some deputy ministers and other officials from the Finance Ministry and the Bank of Ghana.

A statement from the Public Relations Unit of the Ministry said Mr Ofori-Atta, who is also the current Chairman of the Development Committee and the Africa Caucus, will lead the Caucus to present its views and concerns to the world body.

Last August, Ghana hosted the Africa Caucus Meeting in Accra during which, among other things, it committed to pursuing macroeconomic frameworks, policies and reforms that support private sector investment, women empowerment, and sustainable growth.

The Caucus’s “Accra Declaration,” issued after the Meeting, demanded that the Bretton Woods Institutions “support reforms and investments to foster private sector development and facilitate entrepreneurship and innovation, particularly in agribusiness, manufacturing, industrial parks, renewable energy, housing and digitization.”

While in Washington, the Ghanaian delegation would participate in the Africa Caucus Meeting with David Malpass and Kristalina Georgieva, the President of the World Bank, and the IMF Managing Director, respectively.

They will also meet with Jingdong Hua, the Vice President and Treasurer of the World Bank Group, and Hafez Ghanem, the World Bank Vice President for Africa.

The delegation will attend the Commonwealth Finance Ministers’ Meeting, attend the G24 Meetings, and the launch of the Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa.

Aside the obligatory meetings of the IMF and the World Bank, the delegation will hold bilateral discussions with partner countries, financial institutions and private sector investors and the rating agencies.

The Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the World Bank Group (WBG) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) bring together ministers of finance, central bankers, development partners, parliamentarians, private sector executives, representatives from civil society organizations, and academics to discuss issues of global concern especially the world economic outlook, poverty eradication, economic development, and aid effectiveness.

Also featuring are seminars, regional briefings, and press conferences among other events focused on the global economy, international development and the world's financial system.