Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 18th January 2019: The African Union Commission Deputy Chairperson, Amb. Kwesi Quartey, today, held bilateral talks with Mr. Mario Pezzini, the Director of the OECD Development Centre and Special Advisor to the OECD Secretary-General on Development.
Amb. Quartey welcomed Mr Mario Pezzini to the African Union headquarters and acknowledged the importance of advancing the collaboration between the African Union and the OECD Development Centre, particularly, on issues relating to research and statistics in Africa.
Amb. Kwesi briefed Mr. Pezzini on the priority focus of the Commission, highlighting the role of science and technology in transforming societies. He noted the Union’s progress in the integration agenda with the signing and ratification of the AfCFTA and the Protocol on Free Movement of Persons, by a considerable number of member states of the Union.
Continuing, he underscored the imperative to collaborate with well-established institutions such as the OECD Development Centre in order to attain the desired goals of Agenda 2063. He called on the Center to support the African Union with programmes that will lead to the realization of equitable and inclusive socio-economic transformation and development of the continent.
The Deputy Chairperson and the Director exchanged views on issues of importance for the two partner organizations, including the Production Transformation Policy Reviews Report which will be launched in July 2019; Research conducted in the framework of the OECD Development Centre’s Policy Dialogue on Migration and Development; as well as the AU theme for 2019, “The Year of Refugees, Returnees & Internally Displaced Persons: Toward Durable Solutions to Forced Displacement in Africa”. Amb. Quartey stated that “The impact of migration in the countries of origin ought to be studied within the context of the social protection systems in Africa, as the crux of the phenomenon is good governance and rule of law”. He observed that attention needs to be paid to intra-Africa migration and noted the significant contribution of immigrants to Africa’s economic growth.
Responding to the issues raised, Mr. Mario Pezzini highlighted the importance of carrying out in-depth country analysis of experiences of diversification, production transformation and upgrading with the participation of peers. He underscored the relevance of country analysis as essential for policy dialogue and effective peer review. According to him, in-depth country studies are useful tools for learning from the experiences of others and sharing knowledge. He emphasized the need for close collaboration between the African Union and the Center to advance joint priorities in order to strengthen the longstanding cooperation between the two organizations, with a view to deepening high-level dialogue.
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