January 17, 2000
Librevilla - IMF Director General Michel Camedessus on Monday urged developed nations to slash their arms exports to Africa, saying "the other name for development is peace." Speaking ahead of a two-day summit on poverty reduction in Africa, Camdessus said: "A third of African countries are at war and 90 percent of the weapons used are sold by G-8 nations," referring to the group of eight most industrialised countries.
Camdessus told a press conference ahead of the summit, to be held Tuesday and Wednesday under the aegis of the International Monetary Fund, that the IMF was pressing African regimes to cut back their military spending. "The other name for development is peace," he said, calling on rich countries to cut exports "not only of heavy weaponry but also of the light arms which are carried by children in the front line of the conflicts."
"When a country we support goes to war, we go into discussions with it: Do you want war or development? It's a pretty tough dialogue," he said.
Some 20 African heads of state and government are expected to attend the gathering along with top staff of the IMF, the World Bank and the African Development Bank. A preliminary ministerial meeting was being held Monday. Ministers and experts from across the continent have already prepared a document containing proposals for alleviating poverty.
Camdessus estimated that Africa should be able to reach sustained annual growth rates of six to seven percent, rather than the current four to five percent, with an objective of eliminating 50 percent of extreme poverty by 2015. The IMF director general is confidently promoting a new facility for poverty reduction and growth, through which the Fund is to abandon its "all macro-economic" approach.
"The fundamental aspect of these programmes is recognition of the circular relationships among the effort to reduce inflation, (to establish) good macro-economic balance, and the reduction of poverty and inequalities," he said. "We have found that the more you obtain reductions in poverty and inequalities, the more you give validity to your monetary and macro-economic programmes, which become stronger and further reduce poverty and inequalities," he added.
Asked how long the IMF had taken to draw this conclusion, Camdessus said that such principles had only recently been recognised by economists. "Economic progress takes time," he said. "Our institutions are serious institutions which don't wish to sell illusions."
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