Sustainable Development, Sustainable Debt: Finding the Right Balance

December 2, 2019 - Dakar, Senegal

December 2, 2019

Opening Session

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has been facing a dilemma between financing development needs and addressing debt vulnerabilities. SSA countries made remarkable socio-economic progress in the last two decades but development needs remain large. The decline in Official Development Aid (ODA) to SSA by half (from 4 percent of GDP in the 2000s to 2 percent of GDP in 2010s) added to financing challenges. Achieving Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 would require additional financing of some 20 percent of GDP annually at the time when public debt remains elevated at 55 percent of GDP.

The conference, jointly organized by the IMF and the Government of Senegal in partnership with the United Nations and Cercle Des Économistes, will engage a wide group of stakeholders in a dialogue on their respective roles in supporting sustainable development in sub-Saharan Africa. The conference will identify the obstacles—or missing pieces— for sustainable development and propose solution for eliminating them. Specifically, participants will answer the following questions: What can national authorities do to boost domestic revenue, spending efficiency, and improve debt management? Can development partner mobilize resources to bolster ODA to finance development needs? How can the borrowers and lenders achieve greater debt transparency and develop new modes of private financing? The conference provides an opportunity for peer learning by sharing success stories of sustainable development.

CONFERENCE PAPER AND SPEECHES

Sustainable Development, Sustainable Debt

Opening Remarks by Kristalina Georgieva

 

 AGENDA

8:30–9:15 am Registration
9:30–10:30 am

Opening Remarks
• H.E. Macky Sall, President of the Republic of Senegal
• Ms. Kristalina Georgieva, IMF Managing Director
• Ms. Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary General, United Nations

Introduction of the conference sessions:
• Mr. Jean-Hervé Lorenzi (President, Cercle des Economistes)

With the presence of :
• H.E. Faure Gnassingbé, President of the Republic, Togo
• H.E. Mahamadou Issoufou, President of the Republic, Niger
• H.E. Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, President of the Republic, Mali
• H.E. José Mário Vaz, President of the Republic, Guinea-Bissau
• H.E. Alassane Ouattara, President of the Republic, Ivory Coast
• H.E. Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, President of the Republic, Burkina Faso
• H.E. Patrice Talon, President of the Republic, Benin
• H.E. Félix Tshisekedi, President of the Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo
10:30–11:00 am Coffee Break
11:00–12:30 pm

Panel 1 (parallel session): Infrastructure financing—How to enhance joint efforts by all development partners?

The panel will review trends in financing of infrastructure projects in SSA, including from official development assistance. Panelists will be invited to provide insights on whether “traditional” partners can re-invigorate their involvement in infrastructure projects; how newer partners see their activities involving in that area; and how traditional and newer partners can join efforts to mutually improve effectiveness for the benefit of SSA countries?

Discussion :
• Moderator: Mr. Dominique Desruelle, Deputy Director Africa, IMF

• Mr. Matia Kasaija (Minister of finance, plan, and economic development, Uganda) 
• Mr. Thierry de Longuemar, Vice President, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank 
• Mr. Zamir Iqbal, Vice President, Islamic Development Bank 
• Ms. Zhu Jun, Director General, People’s bank of China
• Mr. Emmanouil Davradakis (European Investment Bank) 

Panel 2 (parallel session): Development and Debt—Where are we? How to better capture returns from public investment?

The panel will discuss the progress that SSA countries achieved towards the MDGs, the financing required to reach the SDGs, and debt developments in SSA in recent years. Against this background, the panel will exchange views on how the State can better capture the returns from public investment, whether through domestic taxation, user fees, or improvements in international taxation regimes.

Discussion :
• Moderator: Ms. Amata Diabate, UNDP 

• Mr. Abdoulaye Daouda Diallo (Minister of Finance and Budget, Senegal)
• Mr. Barry Aoua Sylla, Minister of Finance of Mali 
• Ms. Vera Songwe, Executive Secretary UNECA 
• Mr. Emmanuel Pinto, Director, African Development Bank 
• Mr. Guillaume Chabert, Co-President Paris Club 
• Ms. Francesca di-Mauro, Director Central and Southern Africa, European Commission 
• Mr. Christian de Boissieu, Vice-president, Cercle des économistes

Panel 3 (parallel session): Development and Debt—How to get more private domestic and foreign private investment?

The panel will discuss opportunities to boost domestic and foreign private investment to accelerate progress towards SDGs, without putting additional burden on public sector balance sheets. The panelists will discuss the impact of their activities in the countries they operate. They will also discuss the institutional framework required to promote a win-win synergy, including the business environment and investment de-risking.

Discussion :
• Moderator: Mr. Alain Foka, Journalist RFI 

• M. Cheikh Kanté (Minister in charge of Plan Sénégal Emergent)
• Mr. Jacob Saffa, Minister of Finance, Sierra Leone 
• Ms. Linda Broekhuizen, European Development Finance Institutions 
• M. Thierry Déau (CEO Meridiam) 
• Mr. Vincent Rouaix, CEO, Gfi, Informatique 
• Mr. Peter Sullivan, Citi Group, Managing Director, Public Sector Africa 
• Mr. Lubomir Roglev, Director of lawfirm Afrique DS 
12:30–2:00 pm

Keynote Speech by H.E. Alassane Ouattara
(President of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire) (confirmed)
2:00–3:30 pm

Panel 4: What can be learned from successful cases?

The panelists will be invited to share concrete measures or approaches that their countries or institutions implemented in specific areas where they overperform relative to peers. Such policy measures could be related to public or private sector financing of development.

Discussion :
• Moderator: Mr. Fanwell Bokosi, Afrodad 

• Mr. Louis Paul Motaze (Minister of finance, Cameroon) 
• Mr. Salvatore Garang Mabiordit, Minister of Finance, South Sudan 
• Ms. Retno Marsudi (Minister of Foreign Affairs, Indonesia) (confirmed)
• Mr. Donald Kaberuka 
• Mr. Aliou Maiga, Director, International Finance Corporation 
• Mr. Moustapha Kassé, Doyen des Économistes Africains de l’Union Africaine 

Panel 5 (parallel session): How to make innovative private financing truly transformative?

Panelists will discuss new approaches to private financing to address development needs without endangering public debt vulnerabilities. Reflecting on progress so far under the Compact with Africa and various “blended finance” or “de-risking” initiatives, panelists will be invited to consider further steps needed to scale up innovating financing and make it truly transformative.

Discussion :
• Moderator: Pr. Pierre Jacquet (Global Development Network) 

• Mr. Amadou Hott, Minister of Economy, Planning, and Cooperation of Senegal 
• Dr Hamed Al-Bazai, Vice Minister of Finance, Saudi Arabia, Presidency G20 
• Ms. Lawson-Hall (Société Générale) 
• Ms. Lucie Villa (Moody’s) 
• Mr. André Cartapanis, Professor Institue Political Studies in Aix en Provence 
• M. Jean-Philippe Duval (Associé PwC) 
• M. Alioune Ndiaye (CEO, Orange Moyen-Orient Afrique) 

Panel 6 (parallel session): How to spend better and to finance better?

The panel will discuss measures to ensure that borrowed resources are allocated to high-return investment, covering selection and prioritization of investment projects as well as strengthening of expenditure efficiency. Panelists will be encouraged to discuss how to strengthen institutional capacity in recipient country in these areas, including by unlocking multilateral development banks’ wealth of knowledge on investment project, and what steps can be taken for SSA countries to get as good financing terms as possible.

Discussion :
• Moderator: Ms. Eleni Giokos, Journalist CNN 

• Mr. Philip Isdor Mpango, Minister of Finance, Tanzania 
• Mr. Mambury Njie, Minister of Finance, Gambia 
• Mr. Eric Meyer, Deputy Assistant Secretary, US Treasury 
• Mr. Jian Liu, General Director, Ministry of Finance, China 
• Ms. Mimi Alemayehou, BlackRhino 
• Ms. Sinthya Roesly, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Exim Bank of Indonesia              
3:30–4:00 pm

Coffee Break
4:00–5:30 pm

Closing Panel: Strengthening Partnerships

The panel will discuss avenues to improve cooperation amongst the main stakeholders to accelerate progress towards the SDGs without endangering debt vulnerabilities. National authorities, development partners, and the private sector will all need to step up joint efforts to achieve this dual objective.

Discussion :
• Moderator: Ms. Kristalina Georgieva, IMF Managing Director 

• H.E. Macky Sall, President of the Republic of Senegal
• H.E. Alassane Ouattara, President of the Republic, Ivory Coast
• H.E. Faure Gnassingbé, President of the Republic of Togo
• H.E. Mahamadou Issoufou, President of the Republic of Niger
• H.E. Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, President of the Republic of Mali
• H.E. José Mário Vaz, President of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau
• H.E. Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, President of the Republic of Burkina Faso
• H.E. Patrice Talon, President of the Republic of Benin
• H.E. Félix Tshisekedi, President of the Republic of Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Ms. Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary General, United Nations
• Mr. Hafez Ghanem, Vice President Africa, World Bank
6:30 pm Dinner: Closing Remarks by H.E. Macky Sall, President of the Republic of Senegal