The African Development Bank on November 26, 2013 launched the 12th Edition of the African Economic Outlook in Khartoum, Sudan.
The event took place at the Mamoun Beheiry Centre for Economic and Social Studies in Africa (MBC). The launching ceremony was presided over by Abdul Kamara, Resident Representative of the African Development in Sudan, and chaired by Ibrahim Mansour, former Minister of Finance and National Economy of Sudan and current Chair of the Board of Directors of MBC. In his opening remarks, the Resident Representative emphasized the importance of such a forum in generating debate on critical development issues affecting the continent, underscoring the continent's impressive growth performance in the last decade. He indicated, however, that this growth was neither sufficient nor inclusive to make a significant dent in poverty.
Among the major highlights of the report is Africa's strong growth. The report noted that the African economy grew by 6.2% in 2012 and is estimated to grow by 4.8% in 2013, and is projected to accelerate to 5.3% in 2014. The 6.2% growth in 2012 is however driven by Libya's strong growth rate of 96% for that year, which is a strong recovery from the sharp contraction of 60% in 2011.