Addis Ababa — The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and Egypt's Institute of National Planning will next month host a High-Level Policy Dialogue on development in Africa.

The high-level policy dialogue will be held from 10-12 July in Cairo, Egypt.

Mr. Sylvain Boko, Head of the Development Planning and Statistics Cluster in the ECA's Capacity Development Division (CDD), says the dialogue will held under the theme; Financing the SDGs in Africa: Strategies for Planning and Resource Mobilization.

"The overall objective of the 2018 HLPD is to provide a platform for African development planners and finance experts to discuss and deliberate on strategies for financing the sustainable development goals (SDGs) in Africa, with a specific focus on mobilizing adequate resources for their timely and effective implementation.," says Mr. Boko, who's also a Principal Regional Advisor at the ECA.

The high-level dialogue will assess funding requirements and gaps for realizing the SDGs in Africa; identify domestic and international funding sources, including innovative ones for SDG financing in Africa; enable African countries to exchange experiences on mobilizing resources, including good practices and lessons; discuss and agree on modalities for effectively linking development planning and finance; and make recommendations and identify elements of a resource mobilization framework for financing the SDGs in Africa.

"We expect the HLPD to help improve understanding and appreciation of funding requirements and gaps for financing the SDGs in Africa and enhance knowledge and appreciation of the various domestic and international funding sources and modalities for mobilizing them," said Mr. Boko.

The HLPD is also expected to increase awareness and appreciation of good practices and lessons on financing the SDGs as well as come up with well-defined modalities for effectively linking development planning and resource mobilization; and agreed elements of a resource mobilization framework for financing the SDGs in Africa.

An outcome document, including action-oriented recommendations, and elements of a framework for mobilizing resources for SDG financing in Africa, would be produced at the end of the meeting.

"Achieving the ambitious targets of the 2030 Agenda requires a revitalized and enhanced global partnership that brings together governments, civil society, the private sector, the United Nations system and other actors and mobilizes all available resources," said Mr. Boko as he stressed the importance of the HLPD.

Africa needs to mobilise between $600 billion to $1.2 trillion annually if the continent is to achieve its targets as set in Agenda 2030 and its 50-year development plan, Agenda 2063.

This year's theme was proposed by the 2017-HLPD, which was held in Abuja, Nigeria, under the theme Mainstreaming the SDGs into National Development Plans. This was in recognition of the need for effective resource mobilization to meet the financing needs of the SDGs.

The high-level policy dialogue series was established by ECA in 2014 to serve as a platform for coordination and experience sharing among African planners and Chief Executives of planning bodies. Five events have been organized since its establishment.