Bamako - The heads of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank were to meet yesterday with the leaders of more than a dozen African nations on how best to promote development in the region. The leaders from western and central Africa were to meet the heads of the IMF and the World Bank, Mr Horst Kohler and Mr James Wolfensohn, in the capital of Mali.
"We came to show the commitment of the IMF and of the World Bank at the side of Africa in its efforts to fight poverty," Mr Kohler said on his arrival at Bamako airport.
The joint initiative from the IMF and World Bank "shows that we have come together to support, advise and assist Africa in its fight against poverty," added Mr Wolfensohn, who arrived shortly after Mr Kohler.
Among those expected at the meeting are the Presidents of Sierra Leone, Cameroon, Gabon, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Ghana, Niger, Cape Verde and Madagascar. Mali's President, Mr Alpha Oumar Konare, is hosting the forum in his role as head of the Economic Community of West African States.