Mr. Mohamed Ould Cheikh Ghazouani, the Chairperson of the African Union (AU), says the Continental Organization is working tirelessly to mobilize over $100 billion from multi-lateral financial institutions to support export-based companies in Africa.
So far, he said, the AU had mobilized about $38 million and working closely with other economic blocs around the globe, including the Organization of African Caribbean and Pacific States and Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation to secure more funding for export-based companies on the continent.
Mr. Ghazouani, also the President of Mauritania, made this known during the 6th African Union Mid-Year Coordination Meeting in Accra on Sunday.
The meeting focused on the African Union’s theme for the year 2024, Educate an African Fit for the 21st Century: Building Resilient Education Systems for Increased Access to Inclusive, Lifelong, Quality and Relevant Learning in Africa.”
The AU Chairperson said effective coordination between the AU and the Regional Economic Communities was a determinant factor towards achieving continental economic integration which would aid in attaining the AU’s Agenda 2063
He said that a strong economic integration among African countries would enable the AU to present a stronger voice at the United Nations General Assembly, the International Monetary Fund, G20 nations, and the World Bank.
Mr. Ghazouani believed that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) had presented a conducive platform for African countries to increase bilateral trade and foster economic integration.
He said the continental body was also expediting efforts to support African nations leverage the use of Artificial intelligence, energy transformation, financial reforms among others, to improve their economies and fast-track economic growth.
He highlighted some of the priority areas of the AU’s 10-year Action Plan from 2023 to 2033 and urged all Member States to play active role towards achieving the ambitious goals to stabilize the economies of the continent and ensure peaceful and prosperous continent.
Mr. Moussa Faki Mahamat, the Chairperson of the AU Commission, in his welcoming remarks, said AU Mid-Year meeting was devoted towards African integration and, thus, called for a deeper meditation by Member States geared towards achieving the collective and inclusive well-being of the peoples on the continent.
He said the AU was born from the immense project of integration which had not diminished despite its complexity and uncertainties, as well as numerous political, health, and economic crises.
Mr. Mahamat noted that the Regional Economic Communities were not doing well in recent years and that their effectiveness, credibility and weight in the general enterprise of unity of the continent had been greatly eroded.
*The AU itself is experiencing disaffection, which is clearly exposed during our Summits. Who among us has not been offended by the fact that Summits continue without a single President, except the one who is chairing the Summit.
*Often, no Ministers and in the end few Ambassadors. Let us not close our eyes. This repetitive spectacle is ravaging our credibility,™ Mr. Mahamat lamented.
He, therefore, called for the re-awakening of both the regional economic blocs and at the continental level towards achieving the goals of the Organisation.
The outcome of continental integration, he said, was crystallized in the establishment and operationalization of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), noting that it was an achievement that embodied the main dimensions of regional integration, ensuring optimal functioning and finding solutions to its challenges.
“Consequently, without neglecting the brilliance of the progress already made, thanks to the efforts of all, I would like to draw our attention to the inadequacies which continue to challenge us in the completion of the work of integration,” he noted.
Mr Mahamat said the Abuja Treaty of 1991 and the recent implementation of the AfCFTA were decisive stages but irreversible integration processes.
He underscored the need for a greater fluidity of intra-African trade, through the emphasis on trade facilitation, reduction of tariff barriers, rules of origin and the initiative on guided trade and urged AU Member States to address issues of protocols on the mobility of capital, hindrances to free movement of persons and the infrastructure deficit, which were considered major constraints to Africa’s integration.
Mr. Mahamat entreated African nations to double their efforts towards domestic resource mobilization to enable them to be less reliant on foreign aid for development.