High-level Ethiopian delegation participated in G7 – Africa Ministerial Roundtable

Addis Ababa, October 27, 2024 (FBC) — Mr. Ahmed Shide attended the G7-Africa Ministerial Roundtable meeting on the margins of the Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund.

The G7 Finance Ministers under the Italian Presidency convened to discuss country-specific solutions to debt service and liquidity challenges and updates on Initiatives for Development around Pharmaceutical Manufacturing in Africa, Green Infrastructure, Resilient and Inclusive Supply Chain Enhancement in Africa.

Mr. Ahmed thanked the Italian Finance Minister for the invitation and briefed the participants on the historic and bold economic reform program Ethiopia is implementing under the leadership of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) which is designed to address macroeconomic challenges and rebalance the sources of growth by shifting away from public towards private sector-led investment.

The reform was rolled out to improve domestic resource mobilizations, rationalize public expenditure, and enforce fiscal discipline to ensure fiscal sustainability, floating exchange rate regime to correct distortions in the external balance of the economy, institutional and sectoral reforms to improve productivity, generate decent jobs and accelerate economic growth.

Mr. Ahmed expressed the Government of Ethiopia’s commitment to sustainable growth and mentioned the importance of continued international cooperation in availing more concessional financing to Ethiopia and other developing countries.

The roundtable addressed the pressing financial challenges faced by African countries, including increased debt service, the importance of enhancing pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity and green infrastructure development.

The Meeting agreed that the international community should step up its support for African-led, country-owned reforms and investment plans, including domestic resource mobilization, which will progressively allow countries to increase their fiscal space and support long-term development.

The Roundtable meeting was held in the presence of the Finance Ministers of the G7, together with the past, current and next Presidency of the G20 (India, Brazil, South Africa), and international organizations management (IMF, World Bank Group, African Development Bank) met with Finance Ministers and representatives of African Countries (Benin, Egypt, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mauritania, Zambia).