Remarks of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, HE Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma,

at the 3rd Africa-Central and Eastern Euopean Forum
Katowice, Poland, 21 April 2015

 
Mr. Moderator
Excellency, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Senegal, Mr. Mankeur Ndiaye
Esteemed Panelists
Ladies and Gentlemen

It’s a pleasure for me to participate in this 3rd Africa-Central and Eastern Europe Forum in Katowice, and to thank the organisers for bringing us together.

As an African Union delegation, we’ve had discussions over the last few days with the Polish government, exploring common approaches towards strengthening our relationships.

Poland has its ‘Go-Africa’ programme, and I know that other countries in the region have their own programmes to achieve the same goal.

In our discussions with the Polish authorities, there are broad agreement about common approaches: about the vast opportunities in African countries, and the need to build win-win partnerships through investments, joint ventures with African companies that will assist the continent to build its productive capacity, technologies and skills.

We also agree on some of the priority areas for cooperation, including agriculture, agro processing and agricultural technologies.

We are pleased to also talk to business people directly, and I’ve addressed two sessions yesterday on our vision for Africa, as well as the opportunities arising from our priorities.

I therefore look forward to hearing from Polish and other businesses their views about this relationship, and what we can do to facilitate cooperation with our Member states.

We have representatives present here from a number of African countries - in addition to the esteemed Minister from Senegal, there is also the Minister of Agriculture from Tanzania, and the Chairperson of the Kenyan Chamber of Commerce. They too will be able to point towards the opportunities and environment in their countries and regions.

I thank you.