Africa, this year, celebrates the Golden Jubilee of the Organization of  African  Unity  (OAU). During these 50 years the continent has progressed steadily.  Let me, therefore, take this opportunity to brief you on the current status of the continent as follows: 

Peace and Security 

Up  to  the  early  1990s,  the  continent  was  plagued  by  numerous  conflicts and  the cost  of these conflicts  on  Africa was  incalculable.  However, since the late 1990s, conflicts and violence have decreased substantially on the continent.  Africa has experienced a  dramatic  decline  in  the  number  of violent conflicts as compared to other developing regions. A large measure of stability is being restored in many conflict afflicted parts of  the  continent  such  as  the  Horn  of  Africa,  the  Great  Lakes  region, although some  challenges  remain  in  places  like  Eastern  Democratic Republic  of  Congo  and  some  parts in  West and  Central Africa. We have worked closely with our Peace and Security Council to expeditiously address conflicts, prevent crisis as well as the management and resolution of volatile situations on the continent. 

The African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA), the Panel of the Wise and  the  Continental  Early  Warning  System,  are  some  of  the  instruments being  utilized,  in  this  regard.  Others include, post-conflict reconstruction and development support programmes, the African Standby Force and the Peace support missions.  What  is  required  now  is to  mobilize  more resources  for  the  functioning  of  the  APSA  so  that  Africa  can  take   full "ownership" of it, and optimize the use of the various instruments that have been created. This will help to  better manage the different stages of conflict situations,  from  prevention  to  reconstruction,  making  full  use  of  mediation and,  if  necessary,   preventive  deployments.  We are confident that promoting peace and security in Africa will enable the continent to take full advantage of its immense potentials. 

Democracy 

The  African  continent  is  making  good  strides  on  the  road  towards democratization  and  good  governance. In  spite  of some challenges, free, fair  and  transparent  democratic  elections  are  increasingly  the  norm  with several examples of peaceful handover of power.  In the 1960s and 1970s, Africa averaged only 28 elections for the decade. By the 1990s, this had increased to 65 per decade.  Between 2000 and 2005 alone, African countries held 41 elections. In 2011, 18 countries in Africa were considered electoral democracies as compared to only four in 1991. Impunity is also being progressively reduced. 

Another positive development is that increasingly, more elections are achieving the minimum standard of democratic fairness, signaling improved quality of the electoral process. Other aspects of the governance picture in Africa  relate  to  the  rule  of  law  and  corruption,  and  improved citizen participation  and  accountability,  all  of  which  clearly  show  signs  of improvements and a rejection by Africans of the old ways of doing things. 

As  one  way  of  enhancing  democracy  on  the  continent, the  African  Union established  the  African  Peer  Review  Mechanism  (APRM)  where  African countries  peer  review  each  other  on  four  components:  democracy  and political  governance;  economic  governance  &  management;  corporate governance; and socio-economic development.  Some 32 of the 54 African countries have joined and 16 so far have been voluntarily assessed. The  African  Charter  on  Democracy,  Elections  and Governance  adopted  by  the  AU  in  2007  whose purpose  is  to  deepen commitment to democratic principles, elections, the rule of law and respect for Human Rights, has also been developed.  In addition, the African Governance Platform has also been put in place on the continent aiming at establishing in a near future an African Governance Architecture.

Macroeconomic Performance 

Between  2002  and  2008  the  continent  grew  at  an  annual  average  rate  of 5.6  per cent.  This growth  was  interrupted in  2008 by  the  global  financial crisis  and  fell  to  3.1  per  cent.  However, despite the crisis, on average, Africa grew at around 6 per cent during the past decade, making it one of the fastest growing regions of the world after East Asia.  This was  mainly due  to the  commodity  price  boom,  increase  in  domestic demand  and  consumption,  improved  macroeconomic  management  and governance, a rising middle class and urbanization, increased global trade links,  favorable  weather  conditions  and  reduced  political  conflicts  and  civil unrests. Between 2000 and 2009, eleven African countries grew at an annual rate of 7 per cent or more, which is considered sufficient to double their economies in ten years. 

Between 2000 and 2011 six of the fastest growing economies were African. Africa’s collective Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at US$ 2 trillion today is roughly equal to Brazil’s or Russia’s. Despite the sovereign debt crisis in Europe and the subdued growth in North America and China, Africa’s medium-term  growth  prospects,  projected  at  4.8  per  cent  in  2013  and  5.1 per cent in 2014, remain strong.

The  business  climate on the  continent  has  also  improved  and  there  is  a nascent and growing middle class which stands at 355 million people or 34 per cent of the total population in 2010, thereby increasing the continent’s consumer  base  and providing  an  impetus  for  investment  by  foreign investors such as those from Mexico. 

Africa’s external debt has fallen significantly in recent years, from 53.6 per cent  of Gross  National  Income  (GNI) in  2000  to  20.6  per  cent  of  GNI  in 2011 largely  through the  adoption  of  prudent  macroeconomic  strategies, including  tighter  fiscal  policies  and  an  increased  emphasis  on  domestic resource mobilization, amongst other strategies. Another fact has been the extensive international agreements on external debt forgiveness, including the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI) to cancel outstanding debts of Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPCs), as agreed at the 2005 Gleneagles Summit, and the Paris Club’s Evian Approach for non-HIPC countries. However, increased  borrowing  to  finance  development  and  infrastructure projects still presents a challenge to Africa’s debt performance in the medium- and long-term. 

Foreign direct investments (FDI) inflows to Africa have experienced a boom over  the  past  ten  years,  increasing  from  US  $9.6  billion  in  2000  to a  pre-crisis  high  of  US  $58.9  billion  in  2008,  and  have since  rebounded  to  US $50  billion  in 2012.  Investment  flows  have  been  driven  by  high  returns across all sectors in Africa, particularly with respect to commodities and the construction  sector,  as  well as the marked  improvements  in  the  ease  of doing  business  and  the  global  perception  of  Africa  as  an  investment destination.  Flows  from  traditional  European  and  North  American  sources  have  been complemented  by  new  investments  from  Southern  partners  such  as Turkey,  China,  India,  Brazil, Mexico,  etc.  These  are  important  for diversifying sources of investment to mitigate future FDI decreases due to economic crisis. Between  2006  and  2010,  gross  capital  formation  as  a  per  cent  of  GDP fluctuated between as low as 21.4 per cent to as high as 24.5 per cent, and gross domestic savings between 19.3 per cent and 24.4 per cent. 

Regional Integration 

For  Africa  to  sustain  its  current  positive  economic  growth performance, a key priority is to accelerate the depth and pace of regional integration in order to facilitate greater levels of trade, boost diversification and  sustainable  growth,  create  larger  markets,  pool  human  capital  and natural  resources,  and  leverage  the  different  comparative advantages  of African  countries  for the achievement of the continent’s industrialization goal. 

The OAU Charter and the Constitutive Act establishing the AU identifies regional integration as one of the foundations for Africa’s Unity. The Lagos Plan  of  Action  and  the  Abuja  Treaty  elaborate  the  specific  economic, political and institutional mechanisms for attaining this goal. 

The AU has over the last few decades, supported the creation of Regional Economic  Communities  (RECs)  aimed  at  consolidating  markets,  taking advantage of economies of scale and promoting sustainable development. These  regional  economic  communities  are:  the  Southern  African Development  Community  (SADC);  the  Common  Market  for  Eastern  and Southern  Africa  (COMESA);  the  Economic  Community  of  Central  African States (ECCAS); the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CENSAD); the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS); the East African Community  (EAC);  the  Arab  Maghreb  Union  (AMU);  and  the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). 

These RECs have focused on eliminating tariffs, promoting free movement of  people,  goods,  services and  capital  and  creation  of  a  monetary  union under the aegis of the Minimum Integration Programme (MIP). Intra-African trade  in  agriculture  and  manufacturing  has  reached  twice  the  level  of overall  trade,  creating  a  solid  basis  upon  which  intra-African  trade  can  be deepened through the development of regional value-chains.  All  these  have  assisted  the  continent to  make  headway  in  its  integration agenda. Efforts are also underway to establish an African Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) by 2017. 

Infrastructure 

Africa’s growth has been aided by the quality and quantity of available infrastructure. The continent’s infrastructure has been responsible for more than half of Africa’s growth performance and has the potential to further contribute to Africa’s future growth. African governments and the  private  sector  are investing  about  $72  billion annually in  new  infrastructure  on  the continent. Governments contribute 65% while the private sector contributes 25% and Official Development Assistance (ODA) contributes 4%. 

In  order  to  enhance  infrastructure  provision,  the  AU  has  established  a flagship  programme  called  the  Programme  for  Infrastructure  Development in Africa (PIDA). Africa needs to invest US$ 118 billion yearly over the next few years to address the continent’s infrastructure needs and keep pace with economic growth. 
Power  is  by  far  Africa's  largest  infrastructure  challenge  with  30  countries facing  regular  power  outages  and  many  paying  high  premiums  for emergency  power. It  should  be  noted  that  the  continent has  1/3  of  the Global  Energy  potential  and  this suggests  that  this  challenge  can  be tackled. 

It  has  become  clear  that  for  Africa  to  increase  the  rate  of  infrastructure delivery,  a  greater  focus  has  to  be  placed  on  project  preparation  and development  as  well  as  specialized  financial  tools  to  address  specific socio-economic development needs and market challenges. In this context, and  in  collaboration  with  the  African  Development  Bank,  a  new infrastructure  delivery  vehicle  called  Africa  50 Fund has  been  established and will be launched in January 2014, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Africa  50  Fund  aims  at  mobilizing  private equity  fund  to  accelerate infrastructure  delivery  in  Africa.  It  focuses  on  high  impact  national  and regional  projects  in  energy,  transport,  ICT  and water  sector.  It will be structured as a development-oriented, yet commercially operated entity. Its initial  objective  is  to  shorten  the  time  between  project  conception  and financial close.  As  a  commercially  operated  financial  institution,  Africa  50  Fund  will preserve and  grow  its  capital  base,  as  well  as provide high  returns  to  its shareholders. It will have three broad groups of investors, namely, African countries,  the  African  Development  Bank  and  other  major  development financial  and  institutional  investors  such  as  sovereign  wealth  and  pension funds. 

With respect to ICT, the continent has made progress although challenges remain.  Africa  is  faced  with  inadequate  broadband  network  development, weak  inter-state  broadband  connectivity  and  Internet  Networks  and  the absence  of  Internet  Exchange  Point  (IXP).  Access  to  several  types  of digital  content  is,  therefore,  a  prerequisite  for  building  an  African information society. Africa’s telecommunications penetration rate stands at 3  percent  compared  to  an  average of  40  percent  for  other  geographical zones. 

Africa’s needs in the ICT sector exceed US$9 billion. This, therefore, provides  an  investment  opportunity  which  could  be  exploited  by  the Mexican  private  sector.  Specific  areas  of  investment  include,  among others, the establishment of specialized broadband networks, development of  inter-continental  connectivity,  upgrading  of  national  ICT  infrastructure, establishment  of  Internet  Exchange  Point  Network,  and  establishment  of data  centres  and  building  Integrated  Fibre  Optics  in  all  road  and  energy transmission projects, as well as, fibre optic access to at least two different submarine cables. 

Energy 

Access to energy is critical for the continent’s growth and development. In this  regard,  the  continent’s  energy  needs,  amongst  others,  include: interconnection  of  regional  power  pools  into  a  continental  network, integrated  development  of  major  hydropower  potential,  development  of Trans-Saharan  Gas  Pipeline  as  well  as  the  operationalization  of  Regional Gas Pipelines and petroleum products pipelines; and the establishment of an African Electrification Fund.  Enormous potential also exists for the development of renewable and clean energy such as geothermal, wind and solar energy. With special reference to geothermal energy, efforts are underway to develop geothermal facilities in eleven countries on the continent. 

Natural Resources 

Africa  is  endowed  with  huge  natural  resources such  as  minerals,  oil  and other resources which are being exported in raw form and thus generating little benefit to the continent and hence resulting in jobless growth. The continent is home to 12% of the world’s oil reserves, 50% of its gold and 90% of chromium and platinum group metals, 20% of the world’s cooper, 60% of the world’s uncultivated arable lands and has significant deposits of bauxite and other raw materials. In total, Africa is blessed with more than 30% of global natural resources share. 

The African Union has recently increased efforts to exploit these resources for the benefit of the continent.  Many mining industries have been established or revived.  Exploitation of these natural resources has been responsible for the transformation that the continent is experiencing today.  An  African  Mining  Vision  has  been  developed  to  guide  mining  operations on  the  continent.  Efforts  have  also  been  made  to  ensure  sustainable utilization  of  natural  resources.  Many  countries  have  made  progress  in reducing  biodiversity  losses  and  27  countries  have  registered improvements in protecting terrestrial and marine ecosystems.  This presents  tremendous opportunities  for  investment  on  the  continent. Our  desire  is  to  have  the  continent  process  the  oil  into  petroleum and chemical products, so as to ensure value addition and best revenue. 
Blue Economy 

  Fresh Water

It is acknowledged that the quality, quantity and availability of freshwater impacts on the continent’s social and ecological well-being. Despite huge water resources in the form of large rivers and lakes, e.g. Congo, Nile, Zambezi and Niger rivers, and Lake Victoria and Tanganyika, Africa is the second driest continent after Australia. The continent has about 9 percent of global freshwater resources despite holding 15 percent of global population.  Africa’s fast growing economy, urbanization and expanding population, as well as the uneven distribution of water resource makes water scarcity a major constraint for development. 

Second, an increasing number of rivers and fresh water lakes are drying up primarily due to climate change (particularly recurrent drought and temperature rise) and siltation caused by severe soil erosion. Third, the high population growth and shifting human settlements induced by war and political instability, extreme weather events, etc. have placed strain on existing water resources. In  a  nutshell,  scarcity  of  water  severely  constrains  food  production, ecosystem maintenance, access to water for drinking and domestic use, and for development. 

 Ground water

Ground water is equally important to the African population. It is estimated that more than 75 percent of the African population uses ground water as its main source of drinking water.  Presently, Africa’s  water  sector faces  number  of  problems,  including: Multiplicity  of  trans-boundary  water basins;  high  spatial  and  temporal variability of rainfall; growing water scarcity; inadequate data and human capacity; and depletion of water resources through human action.  To this end, the African Union, in collaboration with UNECA and AfDB, has launched  “Africa Water Vision 2025” which aims to create “An Africa where there is an equitable and sustainable use and management of water resources for poverty eradication, socio-economic development, regional cooperation and the environment.” 

  Oceans, Seas and Coasts 

Africa has a total length of over 26,000 nautical miles coastline across the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, the Mediterranean and Red Seas, including its islands. Over thirty-eight (38) African countries are either coastal or island states. African-owned ships account for about 1.2% of world shipping by number and about 0.9% by gross tonnage, African ports handle only 6% of worldwide water borne cargo traffic and approximately 3% of the worldwide container traffic. 

Africa’s coastal zone is known for its rich biodiversity including fisheries, grass beds and wetlands, which are vital sources of livelihoods to many Africans. If properly managed it will generate valuable sources of export earnings e.g. tourism and provide ecosystem functions  and  services. Considerable oil reserves  and gas have  also been discovered offshore, while the coastal sand dunes and seabed  sediments along the Atlantic shores contain commercially valuable alluvial diamonds. 

However, Africa’s inland waters, oceans and seas are under serious threat arising from: dumping of toxic waste; illegal trafficking; oil spill; degradation of  the  marine  environment;  loss  of  biodiversity;  illegal,  unreported, unregulated  and  indiscriminate fishing;  aggravated  effects  of  climate change. And to tackle these problems, the AU Commission has developed the 2050 Maritime Strategy that is aimed at fostering more wealth creation from Africa’s oceans, seas and inland water ways. 

African Demographics 

The  demographic size  of  Africa  in the world  has  grown  from  9 per  cent in 1960  to  15 per  cent in  2010.  By  2050, Africa’s share  of  global  population will leap to 23 per cent and this will be considerably larger than either China or  India. The continent’s population will grow by  1 per  cent annually,  well above the rate of other regions in the World.  Africa  has  the  fastest  growing  and  most  youthful  population  in  the  world. There are 200 million Africans aged between 15 and 24 years constituting 20 % of the continent’s population.

Furthermore, 60% of the continent’s 1.03 billion population is under the age of 35. This is a huge resource which if adequately skilled and capacitated could catapult Africa to become a global centre for manufacturing, ICT and service  industries. The  youth  provide  Africa  with  a  demographic  dividend which must be exploited. The youth bulge will result in an increase in size of  the  labour  force,  a  decrease in  dependency  ratios,  increased  national savings  and  acceleration  of urbanization.  To  this  extent  the  continent requires support from countries  like Mexico  to  engage  in capacity  building programmes to train these youths. 

A  growing  middle  class  due  to  rapid  urbanization  can  create  a  further impetus  for  growth  and  transformation;  34  percent  of  the  continent  is middle  class  providing  a  large  consumer  market  of  at  least  355  million people. This dramatic growth will considerably increase Africa’s importance in the world as a place of opportunities, a growth pole, and an investment destination. 

Youth  unemployment  across  the  continent  is  twice  to  thrice  higher  than unemployment among adult workers and the majority of poor people (72%) are  young people  between  the  age  of 15-24.  The  continent,  therefore, needs to  create  10  million  jobs  per  year  to  be  able  to  cope  with  youth unemployment. This cannot be achieved with commodity exports alone but with  emphasis  on  transformation  through  manufacturing  and industrialization. 

Urbanization

Urbanization  in Africa is  also on  the  increase  and  is  creating  a  growing middle  class.  Currently,  40  percent  of  Africans  live  in  cities  but  this  is projected to increase to 60 percent in the next decade. We estimate that in the  next  ten  years,  the  number  of  people  with  discretionary  income  (i.e. income in excess of food requirements) will rise by 50 percent reaching 128 million, hence an increased spending power. 

The increase in urbanization coupled with the increasing demographics will translate  to  increased  consumer  demand, thereby  catalyzing  industrial development  for  the  continent’s  growth  and  thus  offering  investment opportunities for the private sector, including the Mexican private sector. A growing  labour  force  estimated  at  1.1billion  by  2040  is  poised  to  overtake both China and India, and possess one of the world’s largest and youngest working populations.  The  above  demographic  dividend  could,  if  not  coupled  with  job  creation, lead  to  social  unrest  on  the  continent and  hence the  need  for  skills  and vocational training. 

Human Development 

Africa has  made  substantial  progress  in  many  aspects  of  human development.  Today,  its  people  are  healthier,  live  longer  and  are  more educated and have better access to various goods and services. Some African  countries  have  also  been  among  the  top  ten  HDI  movers between  2000-2010  (Rwanda,  Sierra  Leone,  Mali,  Mozambique,  Burundi and Niger). Africa continues to make good progress in improving access to education and in promoting girls education, with performance closely matching that of India. 

Now  the  task  is  to improve  on  tertiary  education  as  a  prerequisite  for technological  advancement  and  innovation.  In this regard, the AU has established the Pan African University (PAU). The University will comprise five campuses spread geographically on the continent.  Four of these campuses have opened. The continent will, therefore, require technical and financial support to ensure successful implementation of the PAU programmes.  This should could alongside with E-education aiming at achieving an unprecedented skills revolution in Africa.  

Despite  these  developments  the  continent  continues  to  face  severe challenges  on  the  health  front.

Climate Change 

The effect of climate change  on  Africa’s  development  cannot  be overemphasized.  Adverse  climatic  trends  in  Africa  compound  resource degradation, resulting  in  loss  of  decades  of  hard-won development  gains with increases in floods, loss of biodiversity, desertification, water scarcity, droughts and other effects. Africa  is increasingly  paying  attention  to  the  environment  and  Climate Change and its attendant effects. The continent has, in this regard, started to  take  measures  aimed  at  protecting  the  environment  and  mitigating  the efforts of climate change. The overall assessment of Africa's response to its environmental challenge shows some progress.  We, therefore,  wish  to  take  advantage  of  new  opportunities  in  the  post Rio+20 context and the creation of new financing mechanisms (e.g. Green Climate Fund) to address sustainable development. 

Gender and Women Empowerment 

Women represent more than half of the population in Africa and they give birth to the rest of the rest. That is why they need to be paid attention to. Over  the  past decades,  the  AU has made  tremendous strides  with  regard to  gender  and  women empowerment.  The representation of women in decision making positions has increased.  In  2011,  the  proportion  of  seats held  by  women  in  national  parliaments grew  and was  surpassed  only  by the developed countries and Latin America. 

The  legal  frameworks  supporting  women  endeavours  have  been developed;  seven  countries (Rwanda,  South  Africa,  Mozambique,  Angola, Tanzania, Burundi and Uganda) have achieved the 30 % target of women parliamentarians and three other countries are close to reaching the target (Ethiopia,  Tunisia  and  Sudan).  Africa,  as  well  as  regional  bodies, have placed emphasis on gender equality and women’s economic empowerment through  various  legal  instruments  such  as:(i)  The AU Constitutive  Act;  (ii) The AU Gender Policy; (iii) The African Women’s Decade; (iv) The Fund for African women; and (v) The Solemn Declaration. These are all encouraging developments for the continent. 

However, challenges remain; women’s employment outside of agriculture is low when compared to  other  regions.  In 2009,  Africa’s score stood at 32.6% compared to 43% for Latin America & the Caribbean and 41.7 % for East Asia. Majority of women employed outside agriculture are found in the informal  sector  which  is  characterized  by  low  earnings,  lack  of  social protection and vulnerability to economic downturn and other factors. 

Agriculture 

Africa’s agriculture sector has been critical in  generating  the  growth  that has  thus  far  been  experienced  on  the  continent. Agriculture has  been responsible for job creation, foreign exchange generation and food security and  poverty  eradication.  In Africa,  the  agricultural  sector  employs  70%  of the labour force, provides 50% of exports and 30% of GDP. Africa has 60% of the world’s cultivable land, as early indicated. These potentials should be exploited to meet Africa’s need for sufficient and quality food. Over  the  last  decade,  the  continent  has  begun  to  expand  areas  under cultivation. The continent is also implementing the Comprehensive African Agricultural  Development  Programme  (CAADP)  whose  aim  is  to  improve agricultural production on the continent. 

Investment and Partnership Opportunities 

Africa  offers numerous  investment opportunities  in  many  sectors  such  as manufacturing,  Information  and  Communication  Technology,  agriculture, renewable  and  clean  energy, cultural  industry, tourism  and  many  more. Furthermore  it  offers  opportunities  for  partnering  in  addressing  global issues  such  as  climate  change,  peace  and  security,  transnational  crimes, but  also  in  promoting  human  development and  capacity  building through education, vocational training, healthcare, etc. I, therefore, wish to take this opportunity to invite the Mexican private sector to visit the continent so as to assess the investment opportunities and to also call the government for developing a partnership framework in areas of its interests and in line with the African priorities. 

THE AFRICAN UNION AGENDA 2063 

The  continent  has  embarked  on  the  preparation  of a  fifty year  plan  for accelerated  socio-economic  development  and  integration,  taking  into account  recent  progress  in  technological  transformation  and  other developments.  The overall objective is  to  make  Africa  a  prosperous, peaceful, and united continent that assumes its rightful place in the global community  of  nations. The  plan  is  titled, African Union  Agenda  2063:  A Shared  Strategic  Framework  for  Inclusive  Growth  and  Sustainable Development.

The objective of the African Union Agenda 2063 is to chart a development trajectory for Africa for the next 50 years. We want to determine the type of Africa that we want. The  formulation  process  of  the  Agenda  is  being  led  by  the  African  Union Commission  under  the  leadership  of the Chairperson  of  the  AUC H.E Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, working  closely  with  the  New  Partnership  for Africa’s  Development  (NEPAD)  Agency  and  supported  by  the  United Nations  Economic  Commission  for  Africa  (UNECA)  and the  African Development  Bank  (AfDB).  The African  Union  Agenda  2063  will  build on previous continental  wide  long-term  development  and  regional  integration frameworks,  such  as  the  Lagos  Plan  of  Action,  the  Abuja  Treaty  and  the NEPAD. 

Agenda 2063 is also being developed at  a time when the continent is celebrating 50 years of the establishment of the OAU/AU. This will enable us to learn lessons of the past and look into the next 50 years and rekindle the  spirit  of  Pan  Africanism  that  existed  during  the  struggle  for decolonization  and  harness  it  for social, economic  and  technological transformation.  

African Heads of State have committed themselves to the development of the  agenda  through  the  adoption  of their  Solemn Declaration  during  the 50th Anniversary  celebrations  on  25th May,  2013. In  the  Declaration,  they rededicated themselves to the continent’s development and transformation in  many  areas,  including  science  and technology  and pushing  for Africa’s place in the world. They pledged to advance this through, inter alia, 

• Enhancing the African Renaissance;
• Integrating African economies through expanding infrastructure, trade and finance;
• Transforming  the  continent’s  social  and  economic  landscape  to ensure that Africa plays  a  dynamic  and sustained  role  in  the  global arena;
• Advancement of international cooperation. 

The vision for the African Union Agenda 2063 is that of an Africa that is at peace  with  itself,  secure,  corruption  free, encompassing  democratic  and properly  governed  states  run  by  efficient  and  effective  public  service institutions.  It envisions an  integrated  and  technologically  advanced continent supported by the biggest workforce in the world and highly skilled human resources. 

Africa will  be  a  continent  with  the  necessary  infrastructure  to  support  the exploitation  and  beneficiation  of  its  vast  natural  resources  as  well  as management  of  its  marine  resources  and  adoption  of  climate  conscious activities. It will be a continent with high life expectancy, high literacy rates and low infant mortality rates. 

The  process  of  developing  the  agenda  will  be  through  analytical examination  of various  trends,  both  continental  and  global, that  could impact  Africa’s  development  and  determine  appropriate  response mechanisms. There will be a number of studies and development scenarios to determine the best fit for the continent, including potential policies and strategies to be pursued. Risks,  threats  and  opportunities  will  also  be outlined.  Drivers of change  will  also  be  identified  as  areas  of  focus  for  the  continent’s transformation. The  Agenda  will  have  milestones  to  be  attained  along  the way  to  2063  to  enable  us  review  progress.  We expect  to  have  a  draft framework of the Agenda ready by the time of the January 2014 Summit of AU Heads of State and a complete plan during the course of 2014. 

We have already  embarked  on  the  consultative  process  but  more  work needs to be done. This process is dictated by the necessity to mobilize all Africans  by  ensuring  their  participation  in  the  process  and  by  way  of granting the required ownership of it for its successful implementation.  We are consulting stakeholders in all Africa’s society sectors including the diaspora  and  to  reach  more  people  we  have  developed  a  website dedicated to Agenda 2063. 

Agenda  2063  is  critical to  the  achievement  of  our  political  objective  of African  renaissance.  We  want  to  regenerate  our  pride  and  dignity as  a continent  to  significantly  contribute  to  the  progress  of  Universe  with  the efforts  of  our  vibrant  and  dynamic  people  especially  the  women  and  the youths who will be the key drivers of our continental development. The time has  come  for  Africa  and  the  rest  of  the  World  for  a  change  of  paradigm. Strategically,  it  has become  evident  that  the  future  of  the  World  heavily depends  on  the  future  of  Africa. We  say  it  and  we  believe  it  without arrogance  because  it  talks  to  reality. This  is  the  reason  why  we  should move  from  a  traditional  perception  of  the  African  continent  to  a  new  one looking  at  the vital  importance  of  its  social  and  economic  resources  for World  economy.  Today,  when  we Africans partner  with  the  rest  of  the world, it is with full confidence in our own ability to determine our priorities and choices but not to be dictated, as it was the case in the past, by donor institutions or countries, under the scheme of aid mechanisms. This is also the  reason  why  we  are  opened  to  permanent  and  constructive  dialogue with our partners that will enable them to better know us, better understand us, in order to build effective and efficient cooperation.

By H.E. Jean-Baptiste Natama,
Chief Of Staff Bureau of the Chairperson African Union Commission.