African leaders to meet IMF, World Bank chiefs

The chief executives of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank arrived in the Tanzanian capital Dar es Salaam on Thursday for a two-day meeting between the two institutions and leaders of sub-Saharan Africa. World Bank President James Wolfensohn and IMF Managing Director Horst Koller were due to meet the leaders of Tanzania, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Botswana, Uganda and Kenya, the Tanzanian 'Guardian' newspaper reported. The issues on the agenda included governance, conflict resolution, poverty alleviation through economic growth and HIV/AIDS, it added. The visit by IMF Managing Director Horst Kohler and World Bank President James Wolfensohn (who also met heads of state from West and Central Africa in Mali from 18-20 February) was a follow-up to their commitment to put Africa at the centre of their institutions' activities, and a chance to listen to Africa on how the institutions could best support it, according to a World Bank press release. Meetings would focus on the major issues confronting Africa today: "the need to reduce poverty through sustained economic growth, to combat AIDS, strengthen governance, improve the investment climate, and resolve conflicts," it added. Kohler and Wolfensohn are due to travel to Kenya on Sunday, 25 February.