IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss addresses the crowd in his keynote speech at the opening Plenary session in Dar es salaam Tanzania

Tanzanian President Kikwete (c) at conference, with former UN secretary general Annan (l), IMF Managing Director Strauss-Kahn Strauss-Kahn, former UN General Secretary Kofi Annan and Tanzania’s President Jakaya Kikwete hold a joint press conferenceFormer UN General Secretary Kofi Annan, Tanzania’s President Jakaya Kikwete and Strauss-Kahn hold a joint press conference
Kofi Annan addresses the crowd in his keynote speech at the opening Plenary session
Strauss-Kahn attends a Plenary Session with African Finance Ministers and Bank Governors
Strauss-Kahn attended a Plenary Session with African Finance Ministers and Bank Governors

Nick Gowing moderates "Sustaining success in the face of global financial turmoil: Learning from the past, looking to the future"

International Monetary Fund’s Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn speaks at the opening Plenary session

Launching a two-day conference of African financial officials, business leaders, and academics in the Tanzanian city of Dar es Salaam, IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said that the meeting was being held at a critical juncture, with the world facing what he dubbed a “Great Recession.”

“The IMF expects global growth to slow below zero this year, the worst performance in most of our lifetimes. Continued deleveraging by the world’s financial institutions, combined with a collapse in consumer and business confidence, is depressing domestic demand across the globe. World trade is falling at an alarming rate, and commodity prices have tumbled,” he told attendees at the opening plenary, also addressed by Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete.

Ndejembi Michael.