South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is in Paris to attend Tuesday’s summit designed to probe the financing of African economies as the continent recovers from the devastation of the coronavirus pandemic, his office said on Monday.
Host French President Emmanuel Macron invited Ramaphosa and several African leaders to solely focus on the financing of African economies during the pandemic, according to the presidency.
“The president will join several African heads of state and government as well as leaders of global financing institutions at the Grand Palais Ephémère on Tuesday,” the high office said.
The leaders are also expected to discuss how to provide capital to Africa’s private sector to support investments “that will catalyse inclusive economic activity, create employment and accelerate the attainment of the United Nations-led Sustainable Development Goals,” it said.
The purpose of the summit is to support the economic recovery of African countries that have been affected by the health and economic crisis the Covid-19 pandemic has caused since its outbreak on the continent in February, according to the presidency.
Aimed at fostering investments in Africa and averting the risk of excessive debt, the summit follows a recent series of global stimulus package initiatives aimed at easing the countries’ Covid-19 driven economic woes.
The initiatives included the World Bank’s US$14 billion fast-tracking of Covid-19 financing, the African Development Bank’s US$10 billion Covid-19 Response Facility, and the International Monetary Fund’s concessional financing and debt relief to assist the African countries and companies in their response to the pandemic, the office said.
Ramaphosa is expected to attend a welcoming dinner in honour of the African leaders that Macron is hosting Monday evening in the French capital ahead of Tuesday’s summit, the presidency said.
NM/jn/APA