Africa after COVID-19: Charting a New Course for Economic Growth and Development
Tue, 9 March, 2021
10:00am - 11:30am
Tuesday, March 9, 2021
10:00am – 11:30am
via Zoom
Join IIEP and the Institute for African Studies for a discussion with Dr. Ibrahim Mayaki, CEO of the African Union Development Agency/NEPAD; Dr. Vera Songwe, Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa, and Dr. Khaled Sherif, Vice President for Regional Development, Integration, and Business Delivery at the African Development Bank, on charting Africa’s path out of economic crisis toward a more resilient future.
The COVID-19 pandemic has swept across the world with devastating impact on human health and livelihoods, deepening existing vulnerabilities and disparities within societies, national economies, and the global system. African economies shrank by an average 2.1 percent in 2020 and will emerge from the crisis weakened and more deeply in debt. The crisis compels new thinking on the path to recovery and redressing national and global economic inequality and fragility. What new tools and approaches are needed to speed Africa’s economic recovery and build future reslience? What role for African-based and global multilateral institutions in recovery and growth? What entry points for broader international solidarity and support? Ours speakers are leaders at the forefront of these debates within African multilateral insitutions and global fora.
Co-sponsors:
GWU Institute for African Studies
Meet the Speakers:
Dr. Ibrahim Assane Mayaki of the Republic of Niger is the CEO of the African Union Development Agency/New Economic Partnership for African Development (AUDA-NEPAD), mandated to facilitate and coordinate implementation of regional and continental priority development programs and projects. Dr. Mayaki served as Prime Minister of Niger from 1997-2000 and previously as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister in Charge of African Integration and Cooperation. Dr. Mayaki holds a Masters degree from the National School of Public Administration (Enap), Quebec, Canada and a PhD.
Vera Songwe of Cameroon is Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa, appointed in April 2017. She previoulsy served as the International Finance Corporation’s Regional Director for West and Central Africa, World Bank Country Director for Senegal, Cape Verde, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau and Mauritania, and Adviser to the Managing Director of the World Bank for the Africa. She holds a PhD in Mathematical Economics at the Centre for Operations Research and Econometrics, an MA in Law and Economics, a Diplôme d’Etudes Approfondies in Economic Sciences and Politics from the Université Catholique de Louvain, and a BA in Economics and Political Science from the University of Michigan.
Dr. Khaled Sherif is Vice President for Regional Development, Integration, and Business Delivery at the African Development Bank. Previously, he held several senior positions at the World Bank, including Sector Manager for the Private and Financial Sector Development department and Chief Administrative Officer for Africa Resource Management Unit. He has worked at the Agency for International Development in Egypt and at Ministry of Cabinet Affairs and Administrative Development also in Egypt He holds a B.A and an M.A. in Economics and an M.A. in Political Science from the American University in Cairo; and holds a Ph. D. in Public Policy and Management at Boston University.