The African Development Bank (AfDB) Group's Long-Term Strategy will feature prominently in a series of engagements with partners through the month of October, designed to enhance its inclusive and sustainable growth agenda in the Regional Member Countries.
The meetings will kick off on October 4, with the International Economic Forum on Africa organized by the OECD Development Centre, in collaboration with the AfDB, the UN Economic Commission for Africa, the UN Development Programme, and the French Ministry of Economy and Finance. This annual meeting of European and African policy-makers, economists and academics working on and with Africa, gathers more than 500 participants (ministers and high-level representatives of the private sector, academia and civil society organizations) to discuss the performance of African economies and the major challenges faced by the continent.
This year, the forum will focus on African youth: training, employment and prospects for the future. This is the special theme of the African Economic Outlook 2012 report, jointly produced by the OECD Development Centre, AfDB, UNECA and UNDP. The 2012 forum includes a full day of panel discussions on the following themes: the role of the state and the private sector in promoting job-creating growth strategy; opportunities and challenges of better training and skills for African youth adapted to the needs of the labour market; and the benefits of using natural resources to create jobs and fostering development.
The AfDB Governors Consultative Committee (GCC) meeting at the Annual Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank Group follows the Paris forum from October 9-14 in Tokyo. The Governors will discuss a roadmap toward the Bank's return to its headquarters in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. At the Bank Group's Annual Meetings in Arusha in May, the Governors mandated management to prepare a "roadmap providing for an orderly and phased return, taking into consideration the stability of the institution and the well-being of staff members, the financial implications of the return, as well as the risks and the measures to mitigate such risks."
From Tokyo, the AfDB delegation led by President Donald Kaberuka will travel to Seoul for the 2012 Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation (KOAFEC) Ministerial Conference, co-hosted by Korea's Ministry of Strategy and Finance and the Bank from October 15 to 18.
The conference will be held during the first-ever "Korea-Africa Cooperation Week," officially designated by the Korean Government in recognition of Africa's high growth potential and the importance of strengthening cooperation between African countries and Korea. In addition to the KOAFEC Ministerial Conference, "Korea-Africa Cooperation Week" will be further highlighted by two other ministerial-level conferences: the 3rd Korea-Africa Forum, hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade; and the 5th Korea-Africa Industry Cooperation Forum, hosted by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy.
"Inclusive Growth" will be one of the key themes to be addressed at the conference, given its prominence in recent policy debates among renowned academics, heads of government organizations, and CEOs from Korean companies.
From Seoul the next stop will be Addis Ababa, where the 8th edition of African Development Forum will take place from October 22-26 on the theme, "Governing and Harnessing Natural Resources for Africa's Development." The theme seeks to highlight the paradox of Africa's abundant natural resources, which are yet to contribute to its broad-based development. Discussions will focus on mineral, land, timber and fishery resources and the potential role they can play in fostering growth and structural economic transformation on the continent.
Finally, the month-long stream of activities will wind up with the African Economic Conference from October 30 to November 1 in Kigali, Rwanda. The theme of the conference, jointly organized by the AfDB, UNECA and UNDP, is "Fostering Inclusive and Sustainable Development in Africa in an Age of Global Economic Uncertainty."
