On 29 March 2015, the Economic Commission for Africa and the African Union Commission will hold the second Caucus of African Central Bank Governors, in Addis Ababa, on the margins of the eighth Joint Annual Meetings of the African Union Specialized Technical Committee on Finance, Monetary Affairs, Economic Planning and Integration and the Economic Commission for Africa Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development.

The main objectives of the Caucus are to identify concrete follow-up measures to the outcomes of the first Caucus, which was held in Abuja in 2014, and measures to enhance the role of governors of central banks in the consultations leading up to the third International Conference on Financing for Development, which will take place in July 2015. The outcomes of the Conference will have direct implications for central banks in Africa. The Caucus, which brings together the governors of central banks of a number of African countries, will provide a unique opportunity for governors to engage in structured dialogue on the issues that they would like to see reflected in the outcome document of the Conference.

The Caucus is intended to come up with concrete proposals on how to fully engage central bank governors from Africa in the consultations leading up to the International Conference on Financing for Development. In addition, the governors will produce a statement on the issues that they would like to see reflected in the outcome document of the Conference. Lastly, an action plan will be developed, outlining a road map for the implementation of the proposals of the first Caucus.

In addition to governors of central banks from Africa, the Caucus will be attended by key actors in the post-2015 development agenda and financing for sustainable development, to ensure synergies between the two processes.

---

2015 Conference of Ministers

The 8th Joint Annual Meetings of the African Union Specialized Technical Committee on Finance, Monetary Affairs, Economic Planning and Integration and the ECA Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development will take place from 25-31 March 2015 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The Conference will tackle the theme, Implementing Agenda 2063 – Planning, Mobilizing and Financing for Development in a Ministerial segment from 30-31 March 2015, which will be preceded by an expert’s segment from 26-27 March.

The Conference will be held against a backdrop of intensive activities leading up to the MDGs 2015 deadline and the global negotiations on the post 2015 development agenda.

In 2013 the Joint Conference focused on industrialization for Africa’s emergence, and shifted attention in 2014, to inclusiveness and transformative development for Africa. A call was made to African countries to adopt dynamic industrial policies with innovative institutions, effective processes and flexible mechanisms to transform their economies to bring about inclusive and sustainable economic and social development.

The format of the Conference will comprise intellectually stimulating plenary sessions, as well as round table debates and side events intended to deepen discussions on the theme. The Conference will also feature the inaugural lecture for the Annual Adebayo Adedeji Lecture Series, launched in Abuja in 2014 and the launch of the annual Economic Report on Africa, which tackles the theme of trade and industrialization.

The report builds on the key messages of the previous editions of ERA focusing on industrialization and structural transformation. Both ERA 2013 and ERA 2014 emphasized the role of trade in fostering industrialization, both at the regional and the global level, and underlined the importance of implementing trade policies in Africa, mainly aimed at overcoming market and institutional failures that hinder export competitiveness. This year’s report further explores the question of how trade can serve as an instrument for accelerating industrialization and structural transformation in Africa.