Africa’s pre-eminent development finance institution, the African Development Bank (AfDB), has launched a new policy paper highlighting the importance of trade integration and macroeconomic convergence in the continent.

The new report which emerged on Monday carried revisions to the application of macroeconomic convergence and builds on the lessons from the experience in implementing the concept in Europe and elsewhere.

This is aimed at ensuring a balance between the financial sector and the real sector programs in the continent.

Jian Zhang, the principal macro-economist at the regional integration and trade division at AfDB, said the macroeconomic convergence achieved its highest relevance when it was mainstreamed into regional efforts towards development and poverty reduction.

The new policy paper also highlights the important role of fiscal policy in facilitating macroeconomic convergence.

The new policy also focuses on the important role of development partners. It also acknowledges that African countries have the primary responsibility to ensure that the conditions for successful monetary unions exist.

“The report recommends that the AfDB draws up specific support programs… based on a detailed assessment of the individual REC programs and consultations with relevant stakeholders,” it said in a statement.

“The AfDB has already taken great strides in the direction by publishing, in the second half of 2012, a report which had listed all the necessary conditions for facilitating multilateral fiscal surveillance in a monetary union context with focus on COMESA region.”