Luxembourg's Minister of Cooperation and Humanitarian Action, Romain Schneider, travelled to Dakar, Senegal for the African Microfinance Week (SAM) taking place on 29 and 30 June 2015.
The theme of the SAM is "Innovate to accelerate rural finance in Africa". SAM is this year being held from 29 June to 3 July 2015 and was jointly organized by Luxembourgish NGO Appui au Développement Autonome (ADA) and African microfinance networks.
The event is supported by the Luxembourg and Senegalese governments and is under the patronage of His Excellency the President of the Republic of Senegal, Macky Sall.
On the occasion of the opening of the SAM ceremony on 30 June 2015, the Minister Romain Schneider delivered a speech in the presence of the Minister of Microfinance and Economic Solidarity of Senegal, Moustapha Diop. In his speech, the minister emphasised the importance of inclusive finance for the development of Africa and spoke of the value of the SAM for discussions at the International Conference on the Financing of Development, which will be held in Addis Ababa in two weeks time.
The minister also mentioned the expertise of the Luxembourg financial centre in the field of inclusive finance and reported that the Luxembourg Government has supported the sector since 1993. Luxembourg is home to the respective seats of the European Microfinance Platform, the "Microinsurance Network", the "Inclusive Finance Network" and the "Luxembourg Microfinance Development Fund". In the presence of the Director General of the European Investment Bank (EIB), the Minister praised the contributions of the Bank to the field of microfinance, especially through a 'Memorandum of understanding' that funds microfinance projects in the African, Caribbean and Pacific regions.
Alongside the SAM, Minister Schneider had bilateral meetings with the Prime Minister, the Minister of Economy and Finance, the Minister of Health and Social Welfare as well as the Minister of Vocational Training, Learning and Handicrafts of Senegal. These talks examined the implementation of the Indicative Cooperation Programme with Senegal as well as on major international meetings on development cooperation that took place in 2015.
Photo By: Ameth Seck, Sénégal (Photo: L-R: Romain Schneider, Minister of Cooperation and Humanitarian Action; Prime Minister of Senegal Mohammed Dionne)
