[10 Nov 2009] The International Growth Centre (IGC), directed and organised by the London School of Economics (LSE) and Oxford University, will host their first Africa-focused session on 13 November 2009 at the annual African Economic Conference (AEC).

The event is organised by the African Development Bank and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.   

The IGC sessions will see a gathering of academics in international development with African policy-makers. IGC's aim is to help developing countries find their own solutions to economic growth problems and promote sustainable growth by providing demand-led policy advice based on frontier research.   

The aim of the sessions is to develop concrete research studies carried out by IGC, to inform ground breaking policy reforms on the issues of agricultural growth strategies and macroeconomic perspectives for Ethiopia, Ghana and Tanzania.    

The event will bring together academics such as Paul Collier (Oxford University), development experts such as Alan Winters (chief economist of the UK's Department for International Development), and African policy-makers such as HE Meles Zenawi (PM of Ethiopia), Louis Kasekende (chief economist of African Development Bank), Abdoulie Janneh (exec secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa) and Jean Ping (chairperson of the African Union Commission).   

Commenting on the session, Paul Collier, co-director of IGC, said, "I am pleased the IGC is launching its first working sessions for Africa at the African Development Bank annual African Economic Conference. I am certain that the dialogue during these sessions will result in specific demand-driven research that will support the transformational growth strategies needed to pull the citizens of Ghana, Tanzania and Ethiopia out of poverty." (Bizcommunity)