institute for global dialogue African Regional Experts Meeting on the Future Role and Reform of the IMF An international conference organised by the Institute for Global Dialogue(IGD, South Africa) and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung(FES, South Africa Office) 5-6 November 2007 Tshwane, Republic of South Africa CONFERENCE SUMMARY 1 DAY ONE: NOVEMBER 5, 2007 The International Monetary Fund(IMF), also known as‘the Fund’, was established at a United Nations conference convened in Bretton Woods in July 1944, to build a framework for economic cooperation that would avoid a repetition of the disastrous economic policies that had contributed to the Great Depression of the 1930s. Article 1 of the Articles of Agreement sets out the IMF’s main responsibilities that include the promotion of international monetary cooperation; the facilitation, expansion, and growth of international trade; the promotion of exchange stability; assistance in the establishment of a multilateral system of payments; and the aim of making available resources to members experiencing balance of payments difficulties. 2 In recent years, serious global economic challenges have highlighted the need to focus on turbulence in emerging markets; to assist countries making the transition from central planning to market economies; and the challenge of promoting growth and poverty reduction in poor and low-income developing countries. 3 As a result, these issues have stimulated a global debate concerning the reform of the international monetary and financial system and the reform of the IMF as an effective institution. Against this background, the Institute for Global Dialogue(IGD) and the Friedrich Ebert Siftung(FES), South Africa Office, convened an African Regional Experts Meeting on the Future Role and Reform of the IMF. The 1 The contents of this report may not reflect a consensus of all the participants of the conference. 2 Overseas Development Institute. Closing the Deal: IMF Reform in 2007. Briefing Paper, October 2007. Available at http://www.odi.org.uk/publications/briefing/bp_oct07_imf_reform.pdf pp. 1-4 3 Ibid 1