On June 16, 2022, the West African Center for Banking Studies and Training (COFEB) organized a conference on the theme of "Economic recovery policies for African countries in the wake of COVID 19".

The conference was held in Auditorium A of the COFEB Center. It was co-hosted by Dr. Mbaye Diène, Full Professor at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar, who is also an Associate Professor at COFEB, and Mr. Sékou Camara, Assistant Director of Economic Studies and Regional Integration. It was attended by the 44th COFEB graduating class and by BCEAO staff.

The conference was chaired and moderated by Mr. Patrick Kodjo, Advisor to the Director General of COFEB, and acting Director General. In his opening remarks, Mr. Kodjo stated that the aim of the conference was to take stock of the initiatives undertaken by African countries in terms of post-COVID-19 economic recovery, while taking the opportunity to review the experience of the BCEAO and the outlook for the WAEMU Member States. 

In his introductory remarks, Professor Mbaye Diène outlined the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for all sectors of the economy. He also stressed the limitations of the market system as the economic development model adopted by African countries. The speaker then discussed the measures taken by international and regional financial institutions to mitigate the harmful effects of the pandemic and stimulate growth. In the same vein, he recommended that African countries in general and those of the Union in particular adopt post-COVID-19 development policies built on three pillars: (i) human development, (ii) energy transition, and (iii) structural transformation. In conclusion, Dr. Diène put forward a number of proposals with a view to the successful structural transformation of African economies, as an essential prerequisite for the emergence of a broad African market capable of coping with exogenous shocks such as COVID-19. 

For his part, Mr. Sékou Camara, Assistant to the Director of Economic Studies and Regional Integration, shared the BCEAO's experiences and the initiatives taken by the WAEMU Member States in the framework of the post-COVID-19 recovery, against a backdrop of resurgent inflation worldwide and its consequences for the countries of the Union. In this regard, as part of the stimulus measures implemented by the States, he stressed the need for human capital development, structural transformation of the economy, energy transition, digitalization and financial innovation. The stimulus measures implemented by the BCEAO included the introduction of COVID bonds, stimulus bonds (ODR) and support and resilience bonds (BSR), as well as onlending to Member States of resources mobilized through the general allocation of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Discussions highlighted the need to focus on improving the fiscal space, strengthening the capacities of the public administration, developing education and research, consolidating the measures taken to improve the business climate, increasing political stability, improving the security situation and reinforcing regional integration. In addition, concerns were raised about the threat of a food crisis due to rising inflation, as well as the advisability of raising the BCEAO's key interest rates following the Monetary Policy Committee meeting of June 1, 2022. Appropriate responses were provided to the participants. All in all, the participants' questions and comments raised the level of the debate and enriched the discussion.

At the end of the conference, Mr. Kodjo thanked all the participants and stated that he hoped more events of a similar nature would be organized in the future, to help clarify a certain number of concerns about the actions of the Central Bank for the public.