Luanda - An Angolan delegation is taking part in the annual meetings of the World Bank (WB) group and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), taking place from Monday until Sunday (21st) in Washington DC, United States of America.
Leading the delegation, the Finance minister Vera Daves de Sousa, said that Angola hoped that its participation in the event would be another opportunity to better understand macroeconomic and financial trends at world level, as well as to identify the main areas of greatest interest to foreign investors.
She said that the Angolan delegation would be taking part in seminars, workshops and bilateral meetings to strengthen relations with potential global investors, with a view to reinforcing Angola's growth and development strategy.
"We hope that our participation in what are also known as the Spring Meetings of the Bretton Woods Institutions will serve to obtain interesting initiatives and proposals that will make it possible to sustain our public investment needs and attract foreign direct investment to our country", she said.
During the Spring Meetings of the Bretton Woods Institutions, which bring together the world's biggest players in the economic and financial sector, the members of the Angolan delegation will be divided up according to the themes of the seminars, round tables and panel discussions.
Minister Vera Daves is also expected to take part in the meeting of ministers and governors with the G-20, the meeting of the African Consultative Group (AfricanCaucus), as well as meetings with the managing director of the IMF, Kristalina Georgieva, the director of the IMF's African Affairs Department, Abebe Selassie, among other organisations.
Also on the agenda is a meeting with the Monetary and Capital Department, banking institutions such as Deutsche Bank, Crédit Agricole Bank, Citi Bank, Trust & Co Bank and Afreximbank.
The annual meetings of the WB and IMF, aimed at ministers and governors of central banks, bring together the main figures on the international economic and financial scene to discuss the global macroeconomic situation and analyse concrete issues related to the regional situation in Africa and Angola in particular.
The meeting also brings together business leaders from the private sector, representatives of civil society organisations, academics and parliamentarians to debate the world economic outlook, poverty eradication, economic development and the efficiency of support.
The Angolan delegation includes the governor of the Central Bank of Angola, Tiago Dias, the deputy governor of the Central Bank of Angola, Pedro Castro de Silva, the Secretary of State for Planning, Luís Epalanga, the chairman of the Board of Directors of the Angolan Sovereign Fund, Armando Manuel, and representatives of the Angolan government.
Angola has been a member of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund since 1989 and in recent years it has strengthened its relationship with these institutions through specific programmes aimed at improving the management and consolidation of national accounts, as well as improving investment mechanisms and promoting the country's economic and social growth.
QCB/MRA/jmc