The African Economic Outlook (AEO) 2008/09 will be launched at a ceremony which will take place on Thursday 23 July 2009 at the Imperial Royale Hotel, Kampala.The AEO is a flagship report produced by the African Development Bank (AfDB), jointly with the OECD and United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), with a generous grant from the European Commission.The AEO is now widely recognized as a reference report, providing comprehensive analyses of economic, social and political developments on the African Continent. It provides a comprehensive report that contains country notes, analyzing the recent economic situation and medium-term prospects for each country.A comparative synthesis of Africa’s economic and social prospects, placing the evolution of African economies in the world economic context, as well as a statistical appendix, is also included in this report. Each year, the country notes include a report on a particular theme of importance to Africa, and the special theme for the AEO 2008/09 is “Innovation and ICT”. Not surprisingly, the outlook for Africa has been adversely affected by the global recession. Economic growth in Africa is expected to be only 2.8 per cent in 2009, less than half of the 5.7 per cent estimated for 2008. It is then expected to rebound partially to 4.5 per cent in 2010.Current account balances deteriorated in many countries in 2008, especially among net oil importers, whose aggregate deficit increased to 7.1 per cent of GDP, up sharply from 5.4 per cent in 2007. The emergency USD 1.5 billion “bailout facility” announced by the AfDB, in March, and the enlargement of resources for the International Monetary Fund (IMF), agreed on 2 April at the G20 in London, will be especially important if these projected deficits are to be fully financed.In addition to the launch of the AEO, during the AfDB Annual Meetings, which were held in Dakar on 13-14 May 2009, this publication is being presented in Paris and a selected number of countries. The presentations offer a unique opportunity to disseminate information and views on African economic and development issues to a broad public audience.Source: AfDB