Senior political leaders meeting on Saturday at the NEPAD Heads of State and Government Orientation Committee meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, called on the continental agency to leverage efforts in the improvement of industrialisation through existing trading blocs.

The Committee’s Chairperson Senegal President Macky Sall noted in his opening remarks the importance of re-orienting current policies to effectively grow African economies.

The 35th session of Committee focused its attention on industrialisation of the continent highlighting the need to actively engage the private sector in a number of investment plans.

Representing Rwanda’s President, Foreign Minister Ms. Louise Mushikiwabo urged delegates to consider and implement practical partnerships for sustainable development.

“Our goal of sustainable development cannot be reached without industrializing Africa. Our discussions are therefore of strategic importance and I look forward to a fruitful exchange leading to practical outcomes,” Ms. Mushikiwabo added.

Integrated into African Union structures and processes in 2010, the NEPAD Agency has coordinated a number of developmental projects including the Presidential Infrastructure Champion Initiative which under the leadership of Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame saw the roll out of fiber optic EAC five countries cable in 2013.

According to the Chairperson of the Africa Union Commission, now is the time for NEPAD Agency to bring to the fore, industrialization and other development aspects that can lead to the realization of the AU Agenda 2063.

“The commission and the agency have been engaged in discussion of allocation of responsibilities, in the context of a restructuring project, this includes strengthening the agency’s capacity to drive the implementation of our agriculture and agro-processing, infrastructure, science and technology in the industrialization programs on top of other priorities. We hope in the future to see NEPAD taking on the implementations of these,” she said.

In his presentation to delegates attending the meeting, NEPAD Agency CEO Dr. Ibrahim Assane Mayaki called on African leaders to own and lead regional programmes.

“These priorities are all linked to regional integration, because we all know that the optimal solutions to our national problems are not at the national level, but at the regional level, whether it is about trade, education, energy or transport.

“Thus one thing that we are requesting to the Heads of State is to be champions of these regional projects that will accelerate the connectivity of this continent, and since we are in Rwanda, the East African community has really embraced strongly that attitude, approach and strategy others should follow suit,” he said.

A key element of his address at the Summit included a presentation on the recently developed ‘dashboard’, which he said would provide the Agency and Member States an opportunity to track implementation targets of projects at the regional and continental level. He added that the tool would further enhance accountability. 

In his closing remarks President Sall expressed his gratitude to the NEPAD Agency for its ongoing commitment to the development of the continent.

Source: NEPAD