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Mr. Chair,

Excellencies,

Distinguished Ministers, Governors, and Partners,

On behalf of the AUC, I thank the World Bank Group, under the leadership of President Ajay Banga, for this timely report, at a time of high pressure on our continent and the world, and for bringing the critical issue of creating an enabling environment for more and better-paid jobs to the center of this Committee’s discussions.

For Africa, this is not an abstract policy question. It is an urgent development, economic, and stability imperative.

Salutations
● H.E. Mme Bineta Diop, Co-Convener of the African Women Leaders Network,
● H.E. Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations,
● Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization,
● H.E. Nardos Bekele-Thomas, CEO of Africa Union Development Agency,
● H.E Amb. Constancia Gasper, Permanent Representative of the African Union to the United States,
● H.E. Dr. Monique Nsanzabaganwa, my dear sister and Former Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission,

Excellencies,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a great honour to join you today at this high-level consultation convened on the margins of the Africa Risk Capacity's Sixteenth Session of the Conference of the Parties, here in Addis Ababa.

This meeting is dedicated to a theme that is both timely and consequential: "Aligning for Sovereignty: Strengthening Continental Member States Collaboration Towards African Solutions to Africa's Climate Change Challenges."