Ken Ofori-Atta, Ghana’s Finance Minister is in the United States of America, USA, attending the Group of Seven (G7) meeting with Finance Ministers from some African countries which is part of the IMF and World Bank Annual meetings.
Ofori-Atta described the meeting as “quite historic because for the first time, the G7 has called African Finance Ministers to deliberate on the crisis that they see.
“…these are exogenous factors that have really (impacted), even their own economies (and) put it under serious stress and are, therefore, looking for ways in which they can add to the capital needs to make sure that things do not deteriorate. So countries such as Ghana, Senegal, Tunisia, and Morocco were there,” he said as quoted by 3news.
This is not the only historic moment of the ongoing meeting in Washington DC as Ken Ofori-Atta also met for the first time, Kwasi Kwarteng, the British-born Ghanaian who is the current the Chancellor of the Exchequer, that is the UK’s Finance Minister.
In some of the photos circulating on social media, Ofori-Atta is seen sitting next to Kwarteng and having a tête-à-tête.
Kwasi Kwarteng’s appointment made him the first Black to ascend to such a position regarded as only second to the Prime Minister’s office in UK political circles.
Before his new role as the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Conservative MP for Spelthorne was the Business secretary under Boris Johnson’s government.
As the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the British of Ghanaian descent is responsible for raising revenue through taxation or borrowing and for controlling public spending. He has overall responsibility for the work of the treasury.
The G7 is made of an informal grouping of seven of the world’s advanced economies; namely: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, United States of America and European Union.
This group invited finance ministers from South Africa, Senegal, Togo, Zambia, Ghana, Guinea, Rwanda, Chad, Tunisia and Morocco for the all-important meeting.
The meeting with the African Financial Ministers brings together central bankers, ministers of finance and development, parliamentarians, private sector executives, representatives from civil society organizations and academics to discuss issues of global concern, including the world economic outlook, poverty eradication, economic development, and aid effectiveness.
