Press Release No. 09/181

Press Release: IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn to Visit the Democratic Republic of the the Congo and Côte d'Ivoire

May 21, 2009

Mr. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), will visit Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), on May 23-25, and Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, on May 25-27.

This will be Mr. Strauss-Kahn's first trip to Africa since the IMF and African leaders met in Tanzania in March to define a new partnership. Mr. Strauss-Kahn will hear from policy makers and opinion leaders how best the IMF can help them respond to the crisis, and underline the IMF's commitment to supporting them. Over the past year, the Fund has significantly increased assistance to African countries to help deal with the financial crisis and the food and fuel price shocks.

In Kinshasa, Mr. Strauss-Kahn will hold a series of meetings with the leadership of DRC, including parliamentarians, as well as representatives of trade unions and the civil society. These meetings will focus on what the international community, including the Fund, can do to help the DRC cope better with the impact of the financial crisis.

In Abidjan, Mr. Strauss-Kahn will meet Côte d'Ivoire's leadership and economic team and discuss the country’s economic prospects in light of the approval of a PRGF-supported program and HIPC decision point at end-March. He will meet other political leaders and participate in discussions with civil society organizations. He will also make remarks on the global financial crisis and its impact on Africa at the University of Cocody.