Department FrontPage

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,

Round Table: “Innovative experiences supporting the transformation of food systems through the One Health Approach”

7 April 2026|Lyon, France

MINISTER DELEGATE TO THE MINISTER FOR EUROPE AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS, RESPONSIBLE FOR FRANCOPHONE, INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS AND FREANCH NATIONALS ABROAD,

MY FELLOW SPEAKERS,

DISTINQUISHED REPRESENTATIVES OF THE AFRICAN UNION MEMBER STATES,

DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS, INTERNATIONAL AND CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS

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."