Washington - The Minister of Finance, Vera Daves de Sousa, on Wednesday in Washington, considered the first three days of Angola's participation in the annual meetings of the World Bank Group (WBG) and IMF to be positive, as they allowed the strengthening of the bilateral partnership between the country and the Bretton Woods institutions, in various areas of socio-economic activity.
In an interview with the Angolan press (ANGOP, RNA and Jornal de Angola) to assess the first developments of the event, which ends on Saturday (26), the minister referred to the deployment of the delegation in several bilateral meetings, during this period, with the Ministry of Finance focused on the IMF, while the Ministry of Planning and the BNA were 'turned' to the World Bank.
Among other activities, he highlighted Angola's participation in the meeting of the World Bank Group (WBG) team that served to assess the progress of the portfolio of projects financed by this institution, determine the margin or the possibility of the country having more financing and project the future of the bilateral partnership.
At that meeting, he said, it was clear that Angola will continue to count on the support of these institutions in matters related to treasury, with associated reforms.
The increase in the allocation of financial resources to the education sector, for the construction of infrastructures and permanent training of staff, was also one of the subjects that dominated the meeting.
The minister also pointed to access to drinking water and electricity and the design of guarantees for private companies to develop projects linked to Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) as topics that deserved attention at the meeting.
In the first three days, the meeting with the US Treasury Department was also highlighted, during which the parties assessed the technical assistance that Angola has received from this institution, both in the field of debt management and in the fight against money laundering.
Vera Daves also referred to the contact with the department of tax affairs, in which the Ministry of Finance expressed interest in having technical assistance in treasury management, international migration of public accounting and preparation, programming and management of the public investment portfolio.
On Wednesday (23), the Minister of Finance spoke at a meeting on the agricultural food system as an engine of sustainable growth and job creation, at the invitation of the World Bank's Vice President for the Planet, Juergen Voegele.
The theme addressed the growing challenges in the global food system and the promotion of a sustainable food system with greater employment opportunities, with a view to mobilizing private capital.
The event program also has several activities for Wednesday, with emphasis on the 4th Meeting of Finance Ministers and Governors of the G20 Central Banks (FMCBG), the analysis of the main projects and initiatives to be financed in the Debt Capital, Hybrid Finance, Climate Finance and other financing solutions.
The Angolan delegation is led by the Minister of Planning, Hugo Guilherme, and includes, among other individuals, the minister of Finance, Vera Daves, the governor of the National Bank of Angola (BNA) Manuel Tiago Dias, and the president of the Board of Directors of the Sovereign Fund of Angola, Armando Manuel, in addition to representatives of the national bank and experts.
The annual meetings of the World Bank Group (WBG) are a set of events attended by influential leaders from governments, companies, international organizations, civil society and academia in search of solutions to the challenges of economic development and sustainability that the world faces. QCB/VC/DOJ
