Promoting Africa’s growth and economic development by championing citizen inclusion and increased cooperation and integration of African states.
Promoting Africa’s growth and economic development by championing citizen inclusion and increased cooperation and integration of African states.
Agenda 2063 is the blueprint and master plan for transforming Africa into the global powerhouse of the future. It is the strategic framework for delivering on Africa’s goal for inclusive and sustainable development and is a concrete manifestation of the pan-African drive for unity, self-determination, freedom, progress and collective prosperity pursued under Pan-Africanism and African Renaissance.
H.E President William Samoei Ruto (PhD), President of the Republic of Kenya and the African Union Champion on Institutional Reform. H.E. Ruto was appointed during the 37th Assembly of Heads of State and Government in February 2024 to champion the AU Institutional Reform process taking over from the H.E Paul Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda who led the implementation of the reform process since 2016.
The AU offers exciting opportunities to get involved in determining continental policies and implementing development programmes that impact the lives of African citizens everywhere. Find out more by visiting the links on right.
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Statement by H.E. Erastus Mwencha, Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission at the Opening of the International Conference on Population and Development
Opening Remarks by the Commissioner H.E. Martial De-Paul IKOUNGA during the Fifth African Ministerial Conference on Science and Technology (AMCOST V) 1 – 4 October 2013, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Speech of H.E. Dr. Anthony mothae maruping commissioner for Economic Affairs of African union commission at the high level meeting on gender on the post 2015 development agenda,
Abidjan, Cte d’ivoire: 2-4 October 2013
Statement Delivered by H.E. Mrs. Tumusiime Rhoda Peaceو Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture, African Union Commission on the occasion of The Second Joint Conference of Africa-Arab Ministers of Agriculture, October 2, 2013, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Our Host, Honourable Dr. Fahad Bin Abdul Rahman Balghunaim, Minister of Agriculture, The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Outgoing Chair, Honourable Ayman Abou Hadid, Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, The Arab Republic of Egypt
YE. Ambassador Dr. Mohammed bin Abraham Al Twaijri, Assistant Secretary General for Economic Affairs of the League of Arab States
Honourable Ministers from African and Arab States
Distinguished Heads of Delegations
Dear Participants, Ladies and Gentlemen,
All protocol observed.
It is an honour for me to address you on behalf of the African Union Commission during this Opening Session of the 2nd Africa Arab Ministerial Meeting on Agricultural Development and Food Security.
I wish to bring to you warm greetings and best wishes from H.E. Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Chairperson of the African Union Commission.
Let me, from the outset, express our profound gratitude to the people and government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for graciously hosting this important Conference and for the warm welcome, generous hospitality and the excellent facilities accorded to us to make our stay and our Conference enjoyable and fruitful.
I also wish to extend our appreciation to our partners, the League of Arab States, for their good will and partnership in furtherance of our shared interests in the area of agriculture and food security.
I would like to salute Honourable Ministers present at this Conference, from both Africa and Arab regions, for remarkable commitment as demonstrated by your prioritization of this Conference out of your busy schedules.
Honourable Ministers, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,
The global challenges that we are currently facing pose serious concerns that make it absolutely imperative for us to rethink the priorities of development. The high population growth rate, the fast rate of urbanization, the changing patterns of consumption, the environmental challenges, and so on, that our two regions are currently experiencing demand that we embark on a development trajectory that accelerates transformation of strategic sectors as well as building strategic partnerships.
The African Union and its Member States have reaffirmed that sustainable agricultural growth; food and nutrition security concerns should be effectively and properly addressed to meet the challenges of transformation and development. This commitment is demonstrated by the formulation, adoption and subsequent rolling out of an overarching continental framework, the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), that guides strategies, policies, programmes and collective actions to enhance agricultural development and achieve food and nutrition security objectives. CAADP has stood out as a powerful instrumental in terms of aligning and harmonizing the efforts of AU Member States as well as harnessing and mobilizing strategic partnerships around a shared vision and principles of mutual accountability for results and impacts. Key among the lessons that we have drawn from a decade of experimentation with CAADP implementation is that we should sustain the momentum in making use of CAADP to deepen partnerships to unleash our potential to meet the aspirations of our people for prosperity.
Partly because of the emphasis that our Member States have placed on agriculture, the growth performance of African countries whose economies are predominantly agricultural has been impressive over the last decade. Today, some of the fastest growing economies in the world are on the African continent, some of them not even producing oil. This fact is generating its own dynamics in terms of jobs, incomes and wellbeing and, indeed, in changing the patterns of trade and investment in Africa, a continent on the rise and a dynamic force on the global arena.
Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
African agriculture and, in particular the food sector, offers a huge potential for trade and investment. In fact, over the last few years, the flow of Foreign Direct Investment in Africa has been fast growing. At the same time, we take note of the fact that the level of Arab investment in African agriculture has been increasing but could be much higher than what it is today. And, there is ample evidence that we can make the Africa-Arab Cooperation a powerful instrument to enhance trade and investment to the desired levels that match the strong cultural ties, the geographic proximity and the tremendous potential that exist within our regions.
It is in this context that the theme of this Conference, “Strengthening Africa-Arab Cooperation through Promoting Sustainable Investment in Agriculture and Food Security in the Context of Joint Action Plan” is both timely and relevant. It is also taking place within the Year of Pan Africanism and African Renaissance, the Theme of OAU/AU 50th Anniversary and is also part of the prelude to 2014 The AU Year of Agriculture and Food Security.
In this respect, the situation calls for us to seize all available opportunities to ensure that the mutually agreed-upon plans are implemented, despite some difficulties being faced. It is critical that we strengthen the mechanisms that facilitate effective implementation and monitoring of progress in a more vigorous and coordinated fashion. The speedy operationalization of the Facilitation Unit that we jointly established is of paramount importance, and I would like to reiterate the commitment of the African Union Commission to take concrete steps in this direction. We look to you, Honourable Ministers, for leadership in ensuring implementation in your respective countries.
I am sure that our senior officials have done a wonderful job of reviewing the progress made thus far within our partnership, as well as formulating proposals for Honourable Ministers’ consideration and further guidance in expediting the implementation of the Joint Action Plan that the First Joint Ministerial Conference adopted in Sharm El Sheikh in 2010 and was subsequently endorsed by the Africa-Arab Summit.
I wish you productive deliberations and thank you for your attention.
Opening Statement of Her Excellency, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, at the 3rd Africa-India Trade Ministers Meeting
Sandton, Johannesburg 1st October 2013
Honourable Rob Davies, Minister of Trade and Industry of the Republic of South Africa
Honourable Shri Anand Sharma, Minister of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of India
Honourable Seeraj, State Minister of Trade of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and Representative of our AU Chairperson
Honourable Ministers
Officials from India, the Host Country, Member States and the AU Commission
Excellencies
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Allow me to welcome you to the 3rd Africa-India Trade Ministers Meeting, which is jointly organized by the AU Commission and the Government of India, and graciously hosted by the Government and people of South Africa, to whom we express our deepest gratitude.
We invite the Indian delegation to feel at home on African land, particularly South Africa, where it has historic cultural, political and economic ties.
If we consider the evolving geopolitics of our times, according to the last Human Development Report titled “The Rise of the South”, it is believed that by 2020, the joint GDP of Brazil, China and India will overtake the combined economies of the UK, the USA, France, Canada, Italy and Germany.
It is clear from the above that emerging economies are here to stay and their influence on the world economy is not only significant today, but also that it will continue to grow in the future.
Similarly, Africa represents a frontier for global economic growth and stability, now and in the future. Since before the Berlin Conference of 1885 at which Africa was shared among the imperial powers, the resources of Africa have been the driving force upon which the world economic engine has depended. This situation is likely to continue long into the future but this time with Africa having a greater say and benefitting from its resources.
In this regard, African leaders have initiated and embarked upon ambitious and far-reaching strategies and plans that will have a transformative impact on the continent. These include a plan to industrialize the continent through the Accelerated Industrial Development of Africa (AIDA), a plan to increase trade between African countries through the Boosting Intra-Africa Trade (BIAT) and a plan to eliminate trade barriers and deepen the integration of the African market through the establishment of the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) as well as the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) and Agro-Industry Development Initiatives (3ADI) amongst others. In this regard, we urge the Government of India to support these initiatives.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen
Africa and India have had, since times immemorial, historic trade relations. The Indian Ocean, which lies between us, not only provides us valuable links of blue highways and optic fibre highways, but it is rich in marine resources that are vital to Africa’s and India’s blue economies and trade relations.
It is encouraging to note that trade between India and Africa has grown exponentially during the past decade and is expected to reach US$ 90 billion by 2015.
As of 2011, India has emerged as Africa's fourth largest trade partner behind China, EU and USA whilst Africa has emerged as India's sixth largest trading partner behind EU, China, UAE, USA and ASEAN. More than 20 per cent of India’s oil and gas imports are from Africa.
Trade is not the only sector growing in the relations between Africa and India. India has begun investing in the energy sector in Africa as well as in mining, including uranium and hydrocarbons, precious metals and gemstones, especially gold and diamonds. We look forward to these investments contributing to Africa’s agenda of promoting industrialization and value addition to its raw materials within the continent prior to their exportation and to the development of African skills and know-how.
This will ensure inclusive growth that translates into sustainable and decent job creation and retention as well as poverty eradication. In addition, while calling for more Indian foreign direct investment in Africa, such investment should be diversified and encourage local private sector participation, particularly for women and Africa’s growing youthful population.
African Governments have adopted a joint Plan of Action with India for enhanced cooperation including trade. But we rely heavily on the private sector and on public private partnership to concretize this agreement. We therefore expect a lot from the Africa-India Business Council.
There is no doubt that both Africa and India have much to gain through South-South cooperation. In this regard, human resource development, investment in infrastructure development and institutional capacity building will be critical to ensure successful South–South cooperation, based on mutual and equal benefit.
We therefore wish to express deep appreciation to India for the number of capacity building institutions and various training programmes it is offering to African citizens.
I am urging our Member States who have offered to host those institutions to move with speed in the operationalization of these institutions and programmes. We must assess the state of play with all of the institutions, see where we can assist those countries that offered to host to move forward, and if not possible, to then identify other countries where these can be established in the shortest possible time.
At the recent Conference of Ministers of Industry as well as at a meeting of the African Women Entrepreneurship Programme, the need for business incubators was raised to enable women and youth to be better trained and equipped with the necessary skills so as to graduate from micro enterprises to medium and larger enterprises with a view to satisfying both national and export demands and contribute to their respective countries’ economies.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen
As we prepare for the 9th WTO Ministerial Conference in Bali, we need to ensure that the interests of developing and least developed countries are safeguarded, particularly in agriculture and food security.
We must ensure that this process is used to push for greater policy space for all developing countries to pursue national and regional policies that allow them to industrialize and develop their economies, eradicate poverty and build shared prosperity.
As much as Trade Facilitation in itself is a necessary action for boosting intra-African trade and increasing our competitiveness, the proposed text could create supplementary challenges to our weak technical, administrative and financial capacities.
It is therefore important to ensure that the negotiation outcomes strike the right balance in ensuring that African priorities are reflected without African countries incurring crippling costs to meet WTO trade facilitation obligations. Thus, it is important to ensure adequate financial and technical support for African countries to meet the binding obligation that may be agreed upon.
The priorities for Africa are clear: we must industrialise, grow our manufacturing sectors, expand intra-Africa trade, develop our skills and human resources, grow our agriculture and agro-processing sectors and develop our infrastructure.
We therefore encourage our Indian partners to support us on this issue.
As we start reflecting on areas of cooperation for the next Africa-India Forum, it is fortunate that the period of the next Programme of Action coincides with that of the AUC’s Strategic Plan and therefore will facilitate harmonization and follow-up action.
Lastly, as we draw closer to 2015, it is crucial that our partnership reflects the urgent need to meet the 2015 MDG goals. This will ensure sustainable development and a positive transformation of the lives of the African and Indian peoples. We therefore also look forward to working with India on the Post-2015 Development Goals.
I wish you fruitful and productive deliberations and look forward to the outcomes.
Welcome Remarks by H.E. Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Chairperson of the African Union Commission
at the Meeting of the Committee of African Heads of State and Government on Climate Change (CAHOSCC) on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), New York, USA
Office of the Permanent Observer Mission of the African Union to the United Nations, 305 East 47th Street, 5th Floor, New York, USA
24 September 2013
Your Excellency, Jakaya Mrisho Kwikwete, President of the United Republic of Tanzania and Coordinator of CAHOSCC
Your Excellency, Ato Haile-Mariam Dessalegn, Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and Chairperson of the African Union
Excellences, Members of CAHOSCC
Members of the Diplomatic Corp
Distinguished Delegates
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am pleased to welcome You Excellences to the meeting of the Committee of African Heads of State and Government on Climate Change (CAHOSCC) convening here in New York at the AU Office of the Permanent Observer Mission to the United Nations.
I would like to convey the AU Commission’s tribute for all the efforts of the late Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Meles Zenawi, who was the former CAHOSCC Coordinator, in supporting the interests of Africa on climate change. Our gratitude extends to H.E Prime Minister Haile-Mariam Dessalegn for successfully steering the transition.
Excellences,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I wish to refer to the Kampala July 2010 AU Summit decision, which endorsed the recommendations of CAHOSCC on the streamlined single negotiation structure at the Ministerial and Experts’ levels, with a view to ensure African effective coordination of the negotiation on climate change of the UNFCCC and for Africa to speak with one voice.
By convening our meeting here today, CAHOSCC moreover is implementing another decision taken by the 20th AU Ordinary Session held in January 2013 in Addis Ababa, on the coordination of CAHOSCC and Africa’s preparation for COP 19 of the UNFCCC due in Warsaw, Poland, in November 2013.
Given the seriousness of the climate change challenges, developed countries that are historically responsible for this dangerous externality should provide compensation for the damage to Africa caused by global warming. This is particularly, given the fact that despite contributing virtually nothing to global warming, Africa has been one of the primary victims of its consequences as the most vulnerable continent. The AU Assembly, therefore, decided that Africa should be represented by one delegation, which is empowered to negotiate on behalf of all Member States, with the mandate to ensure that the resource flow to Africa is not reduced.
Excellences,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is my sincere hope that the efforts of today’s session will boost Africa’s demand for significantly scaled up financial resources to address climate change impacts. In particular, I call upon the developed countries to honor their financial commitments to Africa.
In addition to enhancing the flow of financial resources to Africa, developed countries must also double their efforts to address the root cause of the problem. They must urgently commit themselves to reduce carbon emissions in line with the Scientific Assessment Report of the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Irrespective of whether advanced developing countries agree to emissions reductions that are binding, developed countries must take the lead and agree to ambitious emission cuts. The action of developed countries to cut emissions must therefore be in line with increase of engagement on their part to support Africa’s programs on mitigation and adaptation.
I am sure that Africa’s Common Position on climate change and negotiations strategies will be updated, consolidated, and championed by CAHOSCC and all Africa’s technical negotiators, under the political leadership of H.E. Jakaya Mrisho Kwikwete, President of the United Republic of Tanzania and, the current CAHOSCC Coordinator.
Excellences,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The African Union attaches considerable importance to the issue of climate change because its impacts threaten to undo Africa’s development efforts. I would like therefore to assure Your Excellences of the commitment of the AU Commission to support the African Group in the global climate change negotiations with a view to realize a successful deal for Africa at COP 19 in Warsaw, Poland in November 2013, as we move towards COP 21 in Paris, France.
I thank you all for your kind attention, and also wish you fruitful deliberations!
Expert’s Review of African Transitional Justice Framework, Lome, Togo, 5 August 2012
Africa Transitional Justice Policy Framework: Expert’s Consultation Report Irene, Pretoria,12-13 March 2012
AUC Consultation with AU Members States on TJ in Africa, Cape Town, South Africa, September 2011
African Union Commission Consultation with African Union Member States on Transitional Justice
