African Finance Leaders Converge in Abuja to tackle Intra-African Trade at 2024 Caucus Meeting

As Abuja hosted the 2024 African Caucus meeting, Central Bank Governors and Finance Ministers from across the African continent gathered at the Transcorp Hilton for this significant event. The theme of this year’s conference, “Facilitating Intra-African Trade: Catalyst for Sustainable Development in Africa,” underscored the importance of addressing key challenges in promoting trade within the continent.

Notable among the attendees was Dr. James Alic Garang, the Central Bank Governor of Sudan, who also serves as the Chairman of the Monetary Affairs Committee for the East African Community.

Speaking on the sidelines with the press, Dr. Garang addressed questions about equitable financing, particularly from the Global South. He highlighted that this issue would be a major focus in both the memorandum and the conference declaration. Dr. Garang emphasized the need to reform the global financial architecture, which involves reducing borrowing costs, enhancing access to finance, harmonizing policies, and ensuring Africa’s voice is heard. He referred to remarks made at the opening ceremony by Ambassador Amina Mohammed, Lord Boateng and Ambassador Albert Muchanga of the AU Commission, who stressed the importance of Africa having a seat at the table where global financial decisions are made. Additionally, Dr. Garang mentioned that access to energy would be a key topic, with the African Development Bank and the World Bank leading efforts to support the continent.

Regarding Africa’s youthful population and the associated challenges in job creation and opportunities, particularly in the context of AI, Dr. Garang acknowledged the high level of unemployment among the youth across the continent. He assured that the governors are acutely aware of these issues. The upcoming memorandum will include a section dedicated to improving youth employment and opportunities across Africa. Dr. Garang emphasized that this is a continent-wide concern, spanning East to West and North to South, and assured that policies addressing youth employment would be prioritized.