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SV PAN..Presidential building
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GV President Lamitzana seated
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GV Minister seated PAN to second Minister
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GV Ministers listening to speech by Lamitzana
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GV General Lamitzana making speech
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GV Ministers (2 shots)
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GV Mr. Babaca Ba relies to speech
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GV Ministers seated
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GV Ministers leaving meeting
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Initials ES. 1620 ES. 1632



Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: A Committee grouping together the Ministers of six West African countries met in Ouagadougou from Wednesday 14th March to Saturday 17th March to discuss the reformation of their monetary system.

The Committee of Ministers included representatives from Upper Volta, the Ivory Coast, the Niger Republic, Dahomay, Senegal and Togo.

The Committee was formed during the recent conference of Finance Ministers of the West African Monetary Union in Niamey, Niger.

SYNOPSIS: In the Presidential Palace at Ouagadougou in Upper Volta, financial experts from six West African countries have been deliberating on ways and means of reforming the West African Community's monetary system.

Chaired by Upper Volta's President Lamitzana, the four-day meeting was attended by the Finance Ministers of Dahomey, Niger, Togo, Senegal Upper Volta and the Ivory Coast. President Lamitzana first set out the aims of the meeting in his opening address.

He pointed out that the West African Monetary Union was attempting a number of development projects with the was of only limited resources. The aim of the meeting was to find out the best way of using these resources.

In reply, Senegal Finance Minister Babacar Ba put forward a series of proposals as a working basis for the conference.

The Ministers then retired to work out with their delegations how the proposals could best be applied to their countries' economies. No details of the proposals were released.