Tanzania hosts international conference

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania and the IMF managing director, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, will jointly host a two day international conference starting tomorrow to discuss the impact of the global financial crisis on the continent.   The conference at the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) Conference Centre in Dar es Salaam will bring together more than 300 high-level participants including finance ministers, central bankers, media, academics, and private foundations.   The conference's theme is "Changes: Successful Partnerships For Africa's Growth Challenge.   African countries may be innocent bystanders in the financial crisis, but their economies are beginning to feel the chill from it.   African banks have little, if any, exposure to the ÔÇ£toxic assetsÔÇØ at the heart of the crisis, but the slowdown in world demand for commodities is a threat to industries that were thriving before the crisis developed.   Less than a year ago, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecast economic growth of 6.7 percent for sub-Saharan Africa in 2009. It has since lowered its expectations to around three percent.   In some African countries, over half the banking business is owned by overseas banks, some of whom might decide to withdraw funds from Africa as they struggle around the world.   *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *