The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the African Union Development Agency—New Partnership for Africa’s Development (AUDA-NEPAD) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to facilitate joint cooperation and collaboration in African development.
UNECA Executive Secretary, Claver Gatete and AUDA-NEPAD Chief Executive Officer Nardos Bekele-Thomas signed the MOU in Addis Ababa.
According to a press release sent to ENA, the MoU outlines a collaborative work program for the years 2024 to 2028, focusing on enhanced resilience for sustainable development in Africa, in alignment with both AU Agenda 2063 and the UN Agenda 2030.
In this regard, both institutions agreed to follow the “Two Agendas – One Framework” approach in six key areas including improving national statistics, data, and systems to help implement the Agenda 2063 STYIP.
Support African nations, regional economic groups, and the African Union (AU) in integrating the Second Ten-Year Implementation Plan of Agenda 2063 into their national, regional, and continental development strategic plans are also part of the agreement.
The agreement will facilitate the development and operationalization of the AU’s Agenda 2063 Development Fund in addition to promoting regional integration, especially through the Program for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA), and support climate action, including adaptation, mitigation, and resilience efforts.
It will also focus on industrialization and economic diversification, including regional value chains, pharmaceuticals, and special economic zones.
The development and implementation of the AUDA-NEPAD Strategic Plan 2024-2028 with focus on key areas of the MoU.
The ECA Executive Secretary and NEPAD CEO both emphasized the need for collaboration among stakeholders in the continent’s development during a pre-signing discussion.
They agreed that the continent’s challenges were surmountable and required political commitment and action to address some of them through the effective implementation of Agenda 2030 and 2063.
The two leaders highlighted the importance of improved capacity in the management of data and statistics on the continent, as these were fundamental to policy decisions and serve as a guide for formulating development efforts for the continent.
Gatete and Nardos both reaffirmed their commitment to the successful implementation of the MoU.
Source: ENA
