Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire — On January 25 in Abidjan, the Government of Côte d'Ivoire and the African Union Commission, in collaboration with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), organised a high-level workshop on the implementation of the African Union's Agenda 2063.
The workshop, which was preceded by a Meeting of Experts, is part of the mission of the President of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, Mr. Alassane Ouattara, who was designated by his African peers as the Champion for the implementation and monitoring of Agenda 2063.
Under the chairmanship of the Vice-President of Côte d'Ivoire, Mr. Daniel Kablan Duncan, this meeting was attended by the representatives of the United Nations System, the Regional Economic Commissions (the ECOWAS and the CEN-SAD), the African Union Development Agency and the African Development Bank (AfDB).
In his opening address, the Vice-President of Côte d'Ivoire welcomed the regional, continental and international institutions' support to Mr. Ouattara's mission.
While recognising the challenges of the continent, he stressed its potential in terms of human resources, as well as its recent economic performance, which he said constitute undeniable assets to achieve 'The Africa We Want'.
He said his President is currently advocating for the mobilisation of resources, strengthening of national statistical systems and implementation of an effective monitoring and evaluation framework to ensure Agenda 2063 becomes a reality.
Mr. Adam Elhiraika, Director of the Macroeconomic Policy Division at the ECA, speaking on behalf of Ms. Vera Songwe, the Executive Secretary of the ECA, said special emphasis should be placed on the integrated monitoring of Agenda 2030 and Agenda 2063, in line with the partnership framework between the United Nations and the African Union.
He also highlighted the work currently underway at the ECA on the integrated monitoring tool for the two Agendas; and the national Voluntary National Reviews for the Sustainable Development Goals'.
While reiterating the ECA's willingness to work with Côte d'Ivoire, Mr. Elhiraika hailed the choice of Mr. Alassane Ouattara as the Agenda 2063 Champion, especially in light of his leadership that has seen Côte d'Ivoire become one of the best performing economies in Africa, with an average growth rate of 8.6% between 2012 and 2018.
Following this meeting, the Champion's Report will be presented at the African Union Heads of State and Government Summit that is set for February in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The ECA Sub-Regional Office for West Africa, represented by its Acting Director, Mr. Bakary Dosso, took part in the meeting and provided technical support.
For more information, please contact: Tahirou Gouro, Communication Officer, ECA-SRO/WA,
Email: gouro2@un.org
