Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has called for greater African unity and stronger economic cooperation as African leaders and business executives gather in Egypt for the inaugural El Alamein Africa Business Forum and the eighth African Union Mid-Year Coordination Meeting.
Mudavadi said Africa must take greater ownership of its development agenda and use its collective economic strength to shape its position in the global economy.
He identified trade, investment, agriculture, energy, technology, mining, partnerships and human capital as key areas that should anchor the continent’s development.
“Africa’s voice must reflect its place in the world. A home to nearly one-fifth of humanity must stand out and walk together to shape its future,” Mudavadi said.
The Prime Cabinet Secretary spoke in Cairo ahead of the three-day meetings being held in Alamein City, Egypt.
He said Africa’s economic transformation should be accelerated through digital technologies and space technology, particularly in sectors such as agriculture, food security, healthcare, energy, manufacturing, mining, education and infrastructure.
Mudavadi said the meetings provide an opportunity for African leaders to assess progress towards the objectives of the African Union’s Agenda 2063, dubbed “The Africa We Want”, and its Second Ten-Year Implementation Plan.
“The Alamein Africa Forum in parallel with the African Union Mid-Year Summit provide an opportunity for leaders to reaffirm the shared commitment to Agenda 2063: ‘The Africa We Want’ and to the effective implementation of its Second Ten-Year Plan,” he said.
The El Alamein Africa Business Forum is expected to focus on investment and economic transformation, with discussions covering automotive investment, climate adaptation and resilience, artificial intelligence and African youth, entrepreneurship, trade integration and economic diplomacy.
Other areas include strengthening public-private partnerships to unlock capital, expanding manufacturing and developing regional value chains.
Mudavadi said Africa’s mineral wealth also presented significant opportunities for economic transformation if better leveraged.
“Africa possesses vast resources, but they are still not being exploited to the level we would like to see. We will also be looking at how Africa is going to leverage on its mineral wealth,” he said.
The forum is being co-organised by the Government of Egypt, Afreximbank and AUDA-NEPAD and will bring together more than 20 Heads of State and Government representatives, alongside senior officials from financial institutions and private-sector players.
The gathering seeks to link political leadership with private-sector investment around sectors considered critical to Africa’s economic future, including infrastructure, trade, critical minerals, digital innovation and health.
Mudavadi also highlighted the importance of the eighth AU Mid-Year Coordination Meeting, which brings together the African Union, Regional Economic Communities and Regional Mechanisms.
He said the meeting would seek to identify coordination challenges and opportunities and develop recommendations aimed at strengthening institutional linkages, capacity building and the harmonisation of development priorities.
“Effective coordination is critical to realizing Africa’s development goals. This constitutes a core element of the AU Reform process and regional integration arrangements,” Mudavadi said.
The Prime CS arrived in Egypt accompanied by senior Kenyan officials and was received by Kenya’s Permanent Representative to the African Union and Ambassador to Ethiopia Galma Boru, Kenyan Ambassador to Egypt Fred Outa and Kenya’s Special Envoy and AU Champion for Institutional Reforms, Lazarus Amayo, among other government representatives.
READ ALSO;
Tourism Fund Urges Continuous Skills Development To Boost Kenya’s Tourism Sector