The African continent is still being sidelined by international financial institutions, President Jacob Zuma said on Friday.

In an opening address welcoming Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) President Joseph Kabila ahead of bi-national discussions, Zuma said the continent needed to build stronger institutional mechanisms.

This needed to be done both by individual countries as well as a regional bloc to ensure systematic development.

"I specifically want to refer to the reform of the United Nations as well as international financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, which still marginalise our continent in decision making," he said.

Zuma said progress in bi-national relations had been made, however, the global economic crisis hampered it from further strengthening.

"As we converge here today we should be so mindful of the compounding challenges that face us as a continent. During this time of the global economic meltdown our challenges are even graver."

In his address, Kabila applauded gains made in co-operation, however, it had not been easy amidst the continued conflict in his country.

"Nonetheless, they are not insurmountable problems... there is a background concern of the DRC conflict," said Kabila.

Sapa

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