WHAT: Africa Industrialization Day 2019:
Highlights for the media:
o Official opening ceremony
o High level press conference
o Opportunities for media interview

WHEN: Wednesday 20th November 2019
TIME: 9:00am
WHERE: African Union Headquarters, Addis Ababa
WHO: The key speakers during the official opening ceremony and at the press
conference include:

o H.E Amb. Mesganu Arga Moach, State Minister of Trade and Industry (Ethiopia)
o H.E Amb. Albert Muchanga, Commissioner for Trade & Industry (AUC);
o Ms. Arrancha Gonzalez, Executive Director, International Trade Center (ITC)

The 20th November marks Africa Industrialisation Day, which will be commemorated with the Official Opening Ceremony of Africa Industrialisation Week from 9am – 11am in Mandela Hall. The Official Opening will be followed by the high-level press conference at 12:30pm.

Background Information
The 25th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) 1989, declared November 20 Africa Industrialization Day. The Africa Industrialization Day (AID), represents a unique platform to enhance international cooperation and dialogue on the pan-African industrialization agenda, and to raise awareness of the opportunities and challenges associated with this innovation drive. Every year it gathers African leaders, policy makers, and representatives of the private sector, academia, international financial institutions (IFIs) and development partners to showcase the continued relevance of industry, including manufacturing production, as a powerful engine to build the Africa we want as underlined in Agenda 2063.

This year the African Union in collaboration and partners International Trade Centre (ITC) and the Government of Ethiopia have planned a week long activities to mark Africa Industrialization Day under the theme, “Positioning African Industry to supply the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AFCTA) Market". Additional partners include Africa Free Zones Organisation (AFZO), United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), UNCTAD and the Korea-Africa Foundation. Together partners have developed an exciting programme that seeks to advance the industrialisation agenda on the continent.

ITC will host the World Export Development Forum 2019 to the fold, a platform which presents the ideal setting to discuss issues around trade and development and strategies to connect businesses to new markets. Sessions are designed to help buyers and sellers make the most of the new African Continental Free Trade Area – with a special focus on the role of women and youth through She Trades Global and the YES Forum. The World Export Development Forum week offers workshops, panel discussions, networking and business opportunities, a media training programme and a Youth Media Zone, in partnership with the African Union Commission and the Government of Ethiopia with the support of the Enhanced Integrated Framework, Ethiopian Airlines, Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Associations, the European Union and USAID.

The Korea-Africa Foundation (KAF) will be bringing startups and SMEs to the forefront as agents of driving African industries forward. Whilst AFZO will present strategies on the development of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) towards accelerating industrialisation in Africa.

AIW 2019 Key Objectives are:
• Mobilizing both African and leaders from the rest of the world, including international development organizations to advocate for the accelerated and sustainable as well as inclusive industrialization of Africa.
• Promotion of start-ups, small and medium sized enterprises/industries (SMEIs), as well as established middle and high-cap enterprises to strengthen the continent’s capacity to integrate into the global production and trading system.
• Providing a platform for public-private engagement between industrial policy makers, the private sector, civil society, and development cooperating partners as they endeavor to share ideas on how to shape the continent’s industrialization agenda. This will also provide an opportunity for African manufacturers to learn from their counterparts from the rest of the world.
• Promote the implementation of AU continental frameworks such as; the Accelerated Industrial Development of Africa (AIDA); the Africa Mining Vision (AMV), the SME Strategy; the Boosting Intra-African Trade strategy (BIAT); the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA); and the UN General Assembly's Third Industrial Development Decade for Africa (IDDA III) in the context of Agenda 2063.
• Development a continental strategy on the automotive value chain to catalyze industrialization.

Six key outcomes are envisaged to emerge from the AIW2019.
• Enhanced awareness on the process of Africa industrialization,
• Policy coherence on industrialization,
• Effective engagement with key stakeholders on industrialization and trade especially in the context of the AfCFTA.
• Enhanced synergies between the private and public sectors as they interface with global capital and technology,
• Agreement on new model of developing Africa’s productive capacities in order to boost intra-African trade and enhance Africa’s share of global trade.
• Enhanced collaboration among various stakeholders for industrialization on the continent and beyond.

For media inquiries contact:
Janet Faith Adhiambo Ochieng | Communications Officer- Agenda 2063 | African Union Commission I E-mail: ochiengj@african-union.org