Addis Ababa to host 2009 African Economic Conference

ADDIS ABABA: Some 500 policy-makers, academics, key private sector players and representatives of non-governmental organisations are expected to attend the 4th African Economic Conference that is jointly organised by the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group and the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) from 11 - 13 November 2009, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

In organising this conference, the AfDB and the ECA seek to foster the sharing of ideas between economists and policy-makers. The conference is expected to improve upon the quality of economic policies designed within the region as well as the dynamic and sustained growth necessary to reduce poverty through knowledge-sharing.

Objectives of the conference include:

Promoting knowledge-sharing as a necessary component of policy design and implementation;
Fostering dialogue and promoting knowledge-sharing among economists and African policy-makers;
Encouraging and strengthening economic research on African economic development;
Providing regional and sub-regional organisations the opportunity to disseminate their research findings and to share information on research they are conducting on the continent with African policy-makers.

The first edition of the African economic conference was organised by the AfDB in November 2006 in Tunis, Tunisia.