The 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 enhance their partnership and collaboration to accelerate the achievement of Africa’s Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Signed at the AU office in New York on September 27, the MoU aims to harness synergies arising from the organizations’ mandates and establish the non-binding and non-exclusive arrangements necessary to ensure effective cooperation in areas of mutual interest.?
UN Under-Secretary-General and ECA’s Executive Secretary, Vera Songwe, said the MoU was a demonstration of how much the two organizations can pool together and raise their ambitions to achieve Africa’s transformation Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development. ?
“Our collaboration will push Africa’s agenda forward, especially within the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area?(AfCFTA), which we all believe in,” said Ms. Songwe.?
She added: “We have done well on advocacy in the areas of sustainable energy, climate change, industrialization, digitalization, and health security. But we need to do better on financing. More advocacy is needed for more financing as we prepare for COP26.”
The objectives of the MoU are to implement the joint work programme for 2021-2023 in six broad priority areas of the organizations’ respective mandates and function; build resilience for sustainable development in Africa as per Agenda 2063 and Agenda 2030; and explore any strategic initiatives that might not be part of ongoing mandate but justified by the importance of unexpected events in line with the six broad priority areas.
The areas of cooperation under the MoU include, among other things, Climate Resilience and Governance, Environmental Sustainability and Natural Resources Management; Sustainable Energy, Nexus Energy-Water-Food and Empowerment of Rural Communities; Knowledge Management and Evaluation, and Human and Institutional Development; Science, Technology and Innovation; Economic Integration, Macroeconomics and Governance Policy; and Wealth Creation – Industrialization.
AUDA-NEPAD’s Chief Executive Officer,?Ibrahim Mayaki, said: “The signing of the MoU shows high level of credibility on issues of development of the continent, especially in the areas of priorities on agenda 2030 and Africa’s agenda 2063.”
“It will be a living document that provides deeper cooperation between ECA and AUDA-NEPAD teams to work together, especially as the six areas of cooperation identified in the MoU are in line with what the two organizations have been doing together,” said Mr. Mayaki.
The operationalization of this MOU will be guided by the pursuit of a common African Union vision through the implementation of Africa’s Agenda 2063 in concert with the United Nations Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development
A previous MoU signed with ECA during the time of the then NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency (NPCA) entered into force in October 2014 for three years with possibility to be extended for two more years. The same will apply to the new MoU.
AUDA-NEPAD?is the technical body of the African Union. The mandate of AUDA-NEPAD is to facilitate and coordinate the implementation of regional and continental priority programmes and projects and to push for partnerships, resource mobilization, research and knowledge management.
Through AUDA-NEPAD, African countries are provided unique opportunities to take full control of their development agenda, to work more closely together and to cooperate more effectively with international partners.?
The UN?Economic Commission for Africa?(ECA)'s mandate?is to promote the economic and social development of its?member States, foster intra-regional integration, and promote international cooperation for Africa's development. ECA’s strength?derives from its role as the only UN agency mandated to operate at the regional and sub-regional levels to harness resources and bring them to bear on Africa's priorities.??
