Liberia's Finance Minister, Amara Konneh, has been elected as Chairman of the Convergence Council of the West Africa Monetary Zone (WAMZ).

Minister Konneh was elected as Chairman at the 30th Meeting of the Convergence of Ministers of Finance and Trade of the WAMZ Countries on Friday, July 13, 2012 in Monrovia. The meeting was aimed at agreeing upon one path towards economic convergence.

In his opening remarks, Minister Konneh said he was honored and delighted to serve as Chair of the 30th Meeting of the Ministers of Finance and Trade of the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ). On behalf of the Government and people of Liberia, Minister Konneh lauded the West African Ministers for their commitment demonstrated by joining Liberia for participating in the meeting.

The WAMZ meeting was also forerun by the 33rd Meeting of the Technical Committee and the 27th Meeting of the Committee of Governors. "Our deliberations over the past week have brought to focus issues on convergence, financial integration, trade, payment systems development, administration of our budget and issues concerning public financial management-all with the ultimate goal of, together, fostering stronger and economically vibrant sub-region," he stated.

"It has been said that any nation or group of nations that seek success or greatness should first forget about both and seek only sound economic policies and hard work, and the rest will follow. Well, fellow hardworking Ministers, Governors and technicians, none of us here tonight -contemplating the heavy responsibilities we bear in managing our respective economies -can argue with that kind of logic," he added.

Meanwhile, the newly elected chairman of the Convergence Council of the WAMZ then urged that they remain committed to their common goals so that that their work will gain further momentum, bringing them closer to achieving full convergence, by January 2015 and ultimately to achieving the level of economic and human development our people deserve.