C’wealth finance ministers’ summit set for September 21

The next meeting of Commonwealth Finance Ministers Meeting (CFMM) will be held on September 21, at the International Monetary Fund Headquarters in Washington DC, USA. As a tradition, the meeting takes place during the annual meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund. The meeting takes place during a period of particular global economic and financial uncertainty to address key contemporary challenges for the Commonwealth’s membership. Finance Minister, John Rwangombwa told The New Times, Thursday, that he would attend the summit. “This is a forum where we meet and share experiences on different challenges our countries face. Specifically, this meeting will consider the current global economic challenges and how we can work together to mitigate their effects,” Rwangombwa said. Key areas of focus at the meeting will include continued exploration of ways to deepen the relationship between the Commonwealth and the Group of 20 most industrialised countries (G20). There will also be discussions on accelerating development and achieving the MDGs with more effective aid and exploring new innovative ways of raising finance, which are important issues in an increasingly resource constrained environment. Ronald Nkusi, the Director of the External Finance Unit in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, noted that Rwanda benefits from the meetings since the policy discussions help the country strengthen its economic performance. “The previous bilateral consultations we had with our partners have helped to strengthen our bilateral cooperation. These meetings also provide a platform to devise strategies for better global economic management framework,” Nkusi said. Commonwealth Secretary General, Kamalesh Sharma, said in a statement that the meeting could not have come at a better time. “With the volatility in the world markets, increasing job losses, rising food prices and rising debt problems we are witnessing across the globe, this particular meeting of finance ministers is timely to explore ways of dealing with these multiple crises,” Sharma is quoted. The Secretary-General added that items on the agenda are key to informing policy research and analysis as well as the Commonwealth Secretariat advocacy work.“Innovative finance, for example, is a major development issue. There is need to explore and develop new ways to raise additional finance to secure balanced growth and meet critical development challenges such as climate change mitigation and adaptation as well as the Millennium Development Goals,” Sharma said. Discussions on accelerating development with more effective aid will examine what collective efforts need to be made by donors, developing countries and other stakeholders to improve the quality of aid. Ends

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C’wealth finance ministers’ summit set for September 21