Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has called for greater unity among African countries as leaders and business representatives gather in Egypt for the El Alamein Africa Business Forum and the eighth African Union Mid-Year Coordination Meeting.
Mudavadi said Africa must develop a common approach to addressing its economic and development challenges while positioning itself to play a greater role globally.
“Africa’s voice must reflect its place in the world. A home to nearly one-fifth of humanity must stand out and walk together to shape its future,” Mudavadi said.
The Prime Cabinet Secretary spoke in Cairo ahead of the three-day meetings taking place in Alamein City, where African leaders are expected to discuss trade, investment, technology, agriculture, energy, mining, manufacturing and human capital.
He said Africa’s development should be anchored on its ability to exploit its resources, strengthen partnerships and promote peace and security.
“Africa carries a huge potential and promise to be a global power house, peace and security being at the centre stage and the continent must now own its destiny and also shape its development Agenda,” he said.
Mudavadi said digital transformation and space technology should be used to support key sectors of the continental economy, including agriculture and food production, health, energy, trade, manufacturing, mining, education and infrastructure.
He said the two meetings provide an opportunity for African leaders to assess progress towards the continent’s development priorities and agree on practical measures to accelerate implementation.
“The Alamein Africa Forum in parallel with the African Union Mid-Year Summit provide an opportunity for leaders to reaffirm the shared commitment to Agenda 2063: ‘The Africa We Want’ and to the effective implementation of its Second Ten-Year Plan,” Mudavadi said.
The inaugural El Alamein Africa Business Forum will focus on areas including automotive investment, climate adaptation and resilience, artificial intelligence, entrepreneurship, trade and integration, economic diplomacy and converting diplomatic relationships into trade and investment opportunities.
Mudavadi said discussions would also examine ways of strengthening cooperation between governments and the private sector to unlock capital investment and develop regional manufacturing and value chains.
“We will also be looking at how to strengthen public and private collaboration in unlocking capital investment as well as have deep reflections on manufacturing and regional value chains,” he said.
The Prime Cabinet Secretary also highlighted Africa’s mineral resources, saying the continent would explore ways of deriving greater economic value from its mineral wealth.
“Africa possesses vast resources, but they are still not being exploited to the level we would like to see. We will also be looking at how Africa is going to leverage on its mineral’s wealth,” Mudavadi said.
The eighth AU Mid-Year Coordination Meeting will bring together the African Union, Regional Economic Communities and Regional Mechanisms to examine challenges and opportunities in coordination and regional integration.
The meeting is expected to develop recommendations on institutional linkages, capacity building and the prioritisation of high-impact sectors under the AU framework.
“Effective coordination is critical to realizing Africa’s development goals. This constitutes a core element of the AU Reform process and regional integration arrangements,” Mudavadi said.
More than 20 Heads of State and Government representatives are expected at the inaugural business forum, alongside senior officials from international and regional financial institutions and other stakeholders.
The forum is co-organised by the Government of Egypt, Afreximbank and AUDA-NEPAD.
Mudavadi arrived in Egypt and was received by Kenya’s Permanent Representative to the African Union and Ambassador to Ethiopia Galma Boru, Kenyan Ambassador to Egypt Fred Outa, and Kenya’s Special Envoy and African Union Champion for Institutional Reforms Lazarus Amayo, among other government representatives.