African Minister of Economy, Finance and Planning have c alled for “bold and swift” action to cushion the impact of current financial and economic crises affecting the continent, the Addis Ababa-based Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) said in a ministerial statement received here by PANA Thursday.
The call was made at the end of the African Union Conference of Ministers of Finance and Economy; and the ECA Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Pla nning and Economic Development, which recently ended in Cairo, Egypt.
The ministerial statement also reaffirmed commitments to “deepen economic reform s, strengthen regulation of financial institutions, harmonize fiscal and monetary policies, among other things.”
The statement further addressed issues of climate change, regional integration, millennium development goals, international trade and the African Investment Bank.
ECA Executive Secretary Abdoulie Janneh said the “economic crisis is a setback” but also an opportunity for innovation, self reliance, and practical solutions.
He thanked the ministers for their endorsement of the 2010-2011 ECA programme of work.
