CAIRO, Feb 15 (MENA) – President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said his tenure as Chair of the Steering Committee of the NEPAD Heads of State and Government since February 2023 coincided with a pivotal phase in the agency’s history, marked by the review of the First Ten-Year Implementation Plan of Agenda 2063 and the adoption of the Second Ten-Year Plan.
He said profound international and regional shifts that necessitate joint action to fulfill African peoples’ aspirations for a dignified life and to address rising poverty and unemployment rates, as well as declining levels of food, water and energy security.
This came in President Sisi’s speech during the presentation of the report of the NEPAD Heads of State and Government Steering Committee in Addis Ababa. President Sisi’s speech that was read out on his behalf by Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Egyptian Expatriates Badr Abdelatty.
” I had the honor of chairing the NEPAD Heads of State and Government Orientation Committee since February 2023, during a crucial period in the agency’s trajectory. This phase witnessed the review of the First Ten-Year Implementation Plan of Agenda 2063 and the adoption of the Second Ten-Year Plan, amid fundamental international and regional transformations that compel us to work collectively to realize our peoples’ aspirations for decent living standards and to confront rising poverty and unemployment, as well as setbacks in food, water and energy security,” the President said.
“Our priorities during Egypt’s chairmanship focused on two parallel tracks: first, restructuring and further developing the agency and its secretariat; and second, intensifying efforts to mobilize financing for priority sectors across the continent, particularly following the adoption of the Second Ten-Year Plan for the implementation of Agenda 2063”, he added.
These efforts, President Sisi said, have turned continental strategies into regional and national programs and initiatives, while mobilizing funding for continental projects. The agency’s program budget rose to over $300 million, and it successfully passed the European Union’s ‘nine pillars’ assessment.
Key achievements include the launch of the Africa Team initiative to mobilize up to $500 billion in financing for around 300 development projects, the initiation of a study track to establish a NEPAD Development Fund as a sustainable mechanism to address the agency’s financing gap and the success in securing $100 million to support public health services in African countries, and contributing to the preparation and launch of the new roadmap for the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program alongside initiatives aimed at empowering women and youth in innovation and the digital economy.
Other achievements include adopting a comprehensive approach that recognizes the direct link between peace, security and development. “In our capacity as the African Union champion for post-conflict reconstruction and development, we finalized the update of the AU policy on reconstruction and pursued an advanced approach to strengthening cooperation between the agency, the AU Centre for Post-Conflict Reconstruction and Development in Cairo, and the Aswan Forum for Sustainable Peace and Development,” Sisi said.
The agency also succeeded in leveraging various African partnerships to serve the continent’s development priorities and interests, urging major economic powers to invest in and finance these priorities, while shedding light on the mounting debt crisis facing our countries and underscoring the need to reform the global economic system.
During Egypt’s chairmanship of the steering committee, the agency managed to enhance African countries’ resilience to climate change and mitigating its adverse impacts on peace, security and development through its Centre of Excellence for Climate Resilience and Adaptation, which Egypt hosts.
He said Egypt continued to share its development experiments with sister African countries, including innovative financing models and public-private partnerships. Egypt also launched a $100 million mechanism to finance the study and implementation of projects in Nile Basin countries, particularly in water, food and energy, as a nucleus for further resource mobilization from partners, international and African financial institutions, and the private sector.
The meeting held on February 10 reviewed progress in the Presidential Infrastructure Championing Initiative under the leadership of President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa. “Our discussions also highlighted the importance of maximizing the benefits of NEPAD’s work in cooperation with the African Union.”
“The meeting concluded with the handover of the agency’s leadership to President João Lourenço of Angola, whom I am confident will provide substantive value and wise leadership to our agency.”
President Sisi said Egypt intends to host an African Business Summit this year to enhance connectivity and integration among governments, business sectors and African financing institutions.
At the end, President Sisi extended his thanks to all leaders and officials who supported the Committee during Egypt’s tenure, wishing the incoming Chair and the new Committee every success. (MENA)
