Franc Zone Finance Ministers Meeting April 13 to 14, 2017 in Abidjan

Finance ministers, Central Bank governors and Presidents of the regional institutions of the Franc Zone met on Friday, April 14, 2017 in Abidjan, under the chairmanship of Mr. Adama KONE, Minister of Economy and Finance of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire.

In an economic context marked by international and regional uncertainties, the finance ministers, the central bank governors and the presidents of the regional institutions reiterated their commitment to work for the development of the Franc Zone and to implement policies sustainable economic development for the benefit of the people. They reaffirmed their commitment to the principle of regional solidarity in order to provide concerted and joint responses to the economic, social and security challenges that some States are facing.

Participants at the meeting noted, in a dedicated sequence, the decline in nominal convergence and real convergence within the Franc Zone in 2016. In particular, they discussed budgetary convergence indicators as a result of the widening fiscal deficits in all franc zone States, as well as the rise in the level of indebtedness, due in particular to the public investment policies and exogenous shocks encountered by certain States. Finance ministers, Central Bank Governors and Presidents of regional institutions thus reiterated their commitment to reducing budgetary imbalances in order to guarantee the proper functioning of monetary unions and to preserve the sustainability of development trajectories. Similarly, real convergence is only slowly progressing in the Franc Zone, reflecting the many obstacles to regional integration. In this context, participants stressed the need to continue the implementation of measures to strengthen this regional integration as proof of resilience and solidarity of the States of the Franc Zone in the face of negative exogenous shocks. In this regard, they reiterated their request for regular monitoring of the implementation of recommendations made during their meetings, particularly at their next meeting.

Finance ministers, Central Bank Governors and Presidents of regional institutions then discussed the experience of African countries in international financial markets, in the context of increasing recourse to international obligations in recent years. They discussed the need to integrate these instruments into a comprehensive approach to their development finance strategies to ensure sustainability. They agreed on a set of principles, drawn from the recent experience of African countries on the use of issuance in financial markets and sustainable financing for development. These principles include the preservation of a sustainable debt trajectory, transparency in debt sustainability analysis, regular dialogue with sovereign creditors and international financial institutions, the equilibrium of the use of different types of debt instruments, reinforcement of management capacities of bond issues and, lastly, the regular nature of the sharing of experience, particularly during the semi-annual meetings of the Franc Zone Ministers.

Participants at the meeting discussed the G20 “Compact with Africa” initiative to increase private investment, particularly in infrastructure, in Sub-Saharan African countries. Several States in the Franc Zone have shown interest in participating in this initiative, as well as their intentions and expectations. Participants expressed hope that the work of the G20 will lead to concrete actions, demonstrating the mobilization of all partners of African countries in the service of development of the continent.

During lunch, the directors representing France and French-speaking African countries at the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund presented the macroeconomic situation in sub-Saharan Africa. They also exchanged news on multilateral institutions for the upcoming Spring Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank, to be held in Washington DC from April 21 to 23, 2017. On this occasion, they discussed issues related to review of the debt sustainability framework and its potential impact on development finance.

Finally, they warmly thanked the Ivorian authorities for organizing this meeting of the Franc Zone and for welcoming participants.

They accepted the invitation of the French authorities to hold the next meeting of Finance Ministers of the Franc Zone in Paris.