The 2018 annual meeting of the African Governors Caucus kicked off Sunday morning in Sharm El-Sheikh under the auspices of Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and attended by senior representatives of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, in addition to the representatives of 40 African countries. The meeting is organised by the Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation and the Ministry of Finance, and in cooperation with the Central Bank of Egypt. Egypt holds this year's presidency of the group. In the first day of the meeting, Sahar Nasr, the minister of investment and international cooperation, said that Egypt's hosting of this meeting falls under the framework of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi's directive to support the African continent's issues in relation to international financial institutions, including the IMF and the World Bank. Nasr said that the meeting's aim is to articulate a unified vision of strengthening the collaboration between African countries and the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, in a memorandum that the African Governors Caucus will present to both institutions in October 2018. "Egypt will exert a massive effort to promote the interests and the priorities of African development during its term as president of the African Caucus," added Nasr during the meeting. Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait emphasised the importance of this meeting, stating that this year's caucus will be focused on discussing issues related to increasing the role of the private sector, particularly in coordination with the public sector, across the continent. The caucus was established in 1963 with the objective of strengthening the voice of African countries in the Bretton Woods Institutions, the IMF and the World Bank. Membership is open to all African countries who are members of the IMF and the World Bank. The countries are represented by ministers of investment and finance, along with governors of central banks.
