AfT Progress, Challenges Highly Feature at Spring Meetings In DC

Monrovia, April 6, 2014: Finance Minister Amara Konneh will lead Liberia’s delegation to this year’s spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) in Washington DC, USA.

The government delegation is scheduled to participate in high-level meetings to discuss Liberia’s development agenda and conclude on commitments made by international organizations and other donor partners.

These meetings will include discussions with the World Bank Vice President Maktar Diop, the IMF Director for Africa, Antoinette Sayeh, as well as the Liberia reviewer under the IMF Program. The Minister is also expected to meet with the Millennium Challenge Corporation on Liberia progress toward the COMPACT development. He will serve as one of the panelists on a high level ministerial level panel discussion on the future of concessional finance and IDA allocation for developing Countries led by World Bank President Dr. Jim Kim. 

As Vice Chair of the IMF Constituency I, the Minister will also be participating in high level constituency meetings. These meetings are expected to yield encouraging dividends for Liberia’s transformation.

While in Washington, Minister Konneh and party will make follow ups and conclude on commitments made by the two monetary institutions as well as other bilateral partners. 

Minister Konneh, who is also national coordinator of the Liberia Development Alliance (LDA) will insist on the Bank's intervention in supporting Liberia’s medium-term development strategy, the Agenda for Transformation (AfT). He will show case progress made in the implementation of the five-year development agenda and seek the Bank and Fund’s supports towards the energy, roads and other ongoing projects.

Officials traveling with Minister Konneh include Dr. Florence Chenoweth, Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Antoinette Weeks, Minister of Public Works, Dr. J. Mills Jones, Executive Governor, Central Bank of Liberia and Hon. Lewis Brown, Minister of Information and Tourism. Others are Hon. Eugene Nagbe, Minister of Youth & Sports, Mr. Boima Kamara, Deputy Governor, Central Bank of Liberia and Hon. Tolbert G. Nyenswah, Assistant Minister for Prevention, Ministry of Health. 

During the high-level meeting with World Bank VP Diop, Minister Konneh will highlight the progress made on Liberia's effort towards achieving a vision for sustainable growth and development particularly investing in infrastructure, with special emphasis on the rehabilitation of the energy sector, roads and ports. He will also use these meetings to advocate for more IDA allocation for Liberia for infrastructure development.

In order to realize its vision of sustainable growth and development, the Government is working closely with donor partners to mobilize resources for investment in infrastructure. In fiscal year 2013/14 the government and its partners have disbursed funds for national priority projects, including the rehabilitation of the Mount Coffee Hydro plant, the construction of new Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) power plants, electricity transmission and distribution, and roads and bridges connecting major urban centers and trade routes. 

Investing in human capital, leveraging agriculture potential for economic transformation, developing the private sector especially Liberian owned businesses and investing in reconciliation are key areas the Minister will be soliciting donors support. 

In order to address the significant infrastructure deficit, the government is continuing to work to unlock additional resources, both domestically and through donor partners, to meet the development needs of the country. 

The Minister will also meet key staff of the Fiscal Affairs Department of the IMF to discuss recent developments in public financial management (PFM). The Fund’s PFM engagement with Liberia is designed to respond to contemporary demands in the Liberian public financial management landscape.
 
Background

Each Spring, thousands of government officials, journalists, civil society organizations, and invited participants from the academia and private sectors, gather in Washington DC for the Spring Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank Group. At the heart of the gathering are meetings of the IMF's International Monetary and Financial Committee and the joint World Bank-IMF Development Committee, which discuss progress on the work of the IMF and the World Bank Group. Also featured are seminars, regional briefings, press conferences, and many other events focused on the global economy, international development, and the world’s financial markets.