SIDE EVENT

Ministerial Special Event – “Boosting Quality FDI for Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development in Africa”

Date: THURsday 3 July 2025

Venue: Room FIBES 1, FIBES Sevilla Exhibition and Conference Centre, FfD4 Conference

Time: 08:30 Am to 10:00 Am

Excellencies, Distinguished Guests, Panelists, Partners, and Colleagues,

Good morning.

On behalf of the African Union Commission, I extend heartfelt gratitude to our co-hosts, the United Nations, the Governments of Spain and Zambia and our valued partner, the OECD for making this meeting a reality as we convene to find sustainable solutions towards inclusive growth and sustainable development.

We are here to reaffirm a shared ambition: to harness quality foreign direct investment as a driver of job creation, inclusive growth and sustainable development in Africa.

This ambition is central to the African Union’s Agenda 2063, our strategic framework for a prosperous, integrated, and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the global arena.

In that vision, investment is not an end, but a means to build resilient economies, accelerate industrialisation, and advance our green and digital transitions.

It is within this context that we proudly introduce the recently launched Africa Virtual Investment Platform (AVIP), a flagship initiative of the AU–OECD Partnership. AVIP addresses a long-standing challenge faced across our Member States: the persistent asymmetry of information and the disconnect between perceptions and the actual risk-return profile of investing in Africa.

Through AVIP, we aim to close these gaps, spotlight transformative opportunities, and elevate our collective ability to attract sustainable investment, aligned with our continental priorities including the AfCFTA, PIDA, and our Climate Change and Resilient Development Strategy.

We are particularly encouraged that AVIP will focus on measurable outcomes on jobs, skills, gender equality, climate action, and innovation.

These align directly with the African Union’s Ten-Year Implementation Plans and the targets of Agenda 2063 that we have set collectively with our Member States.

Moreover, AVIP will empower countries to improve policy coherence, facilitate peer learning across regions, and channel private capital toward inclusive projects, especially in sectors vital to youth employment and women’s economic participation.

Allow me to conclude my remarks by calling upon our partners here today to continue supporting this platform, through data-sharing, and collaboration toward the success of this tool in delivering for the continent’s transformation. And I urge Member States to take full advantage of AVIP to attract the kind of investment that truly serves our people and our planet.

I Thank you.