In 2013, member states of the African Union agreed upon "Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want", working towards an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its citizens, representing a dynamic force in the international arena. In line with this vision, deepening economic integration through interconnected and competitive product value chains based on local commodities will expand trade across the continent, which is crucial for Africa's development.
Before the Covid-19 Pandemic hit the continent, many African economies had been pursuing reforms aimed at integrating into the world economy and were as a result experiencing substantial economic growth. This growth has primarily been supported by commodity exports. Transforming Africa from a raw materials exporter to a producer of market-competitive value added products will require the continent to integrate into regional and global value chains and promote horizontal and vertical diversification anchored in value addition, innovative approaches and local content development.
Only a massive industrialisation effort will enable Africa to eradicate poverty, provide job opportunities to millions of young people and achieve sustainable development. The STC will at its third meeting consider several issues related to Africa's Industrialisation initiatives and programs with a view to accelerating the continent’s process of economic transformation.
The COVID-19 pandemic has crippled nearly every economy across the globe, there is consensus across the African continent on the need to build a strong and resilient economy to withstand future shocks. This will include developing an integrated and complementary African value chains, to support the commitment to transform Africa from a raw materials exporter to a producer of market-competitive value added products.
The COVID-19 crisis combined with the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) beginning in January 2021, call for innovative policies to realize Africa’s full potential. Emerging trends in global investment and technologies cast doubt on the potential of past strategies to succeed in the new global and continental context.
The issues being presented to Ministers at the STC meeting all relate to the pursuit of deeper continental economic integration which will greatly assist Africa in mitigating the impact of the COVID 19 pandemic. A stronger and more integrated Africa will also be better able to resist negative socio-economic impacts of externally induced economic shocks such as were observed during the financial crisis of 2008. For this reason, a 90-minute panel discussion on the theme: “Deepening economic integration through interconnected and competitive product value chains based on local commodities”, is also being organised and will take place on the day of the Ministerial meeting. A high level panel of experts on economic integration has been assembled for the webinar.
More details can be found in the Concept Note and working documents attached at the bottom of the page.
