Cristina Duarte, Under-Secretary-General and United Nations Special Adviser on Africa meets with senior government officials during her mission to Algeria. From left to right, she is pictured with their excellencies Mr. Laaziz Fayed, Minister of Finance, Ms. Kaouter Krikou, Minister of National solidarity, the Family and the Status of Women and Mr. Sidi Mohammed Bouchenak Khelladi, President of the National Economic, Social and Environmental Council
Media Advisory
Algiers, 12 December 2023 – From 11 to 12 December, the Under-Secretary-General (USG) and Special Adviser on Africa to the United Nations Secretary-General, Cristina Duarte, was on a mission to Algeria. Highlighting a long-standing partnership focused on boosting Africa’s development, Duarte's visit centred on Algeria's contribution to accelerating the development of Africa's finance, energy, and technology sectors.
Transforming Financial Systems
During a meeting with Algeria's Finance Minister Laaziz Fayed and echoing , USG Duarte highlighted the imperative to transform the development financing model globally and in Africa. The two leaders discussed boosting socio-economic funding through the primacy of domestic resource mobilization, strengthening institutional trust, refining public financial management, and advancing administrative digitization. Duarte recognized Africa's recent progress, underscoring the continent's potential and the impact of Africa-led initiatives. She highlighted the results of Algeria's approach, inviting broader recognition for the nation's progress. For his part, Minister Fayed outlined Algeria's commitment to social welfare and the well-being of the people, including the 40 per cent state budget dedicated to people-centred programmes and activities. He also mentioned reforms in public finance aimed at enhancing transparency and accountability in public spending.
Energizing Sustainable Growth
USG Duarte's meeting with Mohamed Arkab, Minister of Energy and Mines, focused on energy cooperation. Minister Arkab conveyed Algeria's readiness to contribute to boosting energy access across Africa, drawing on national expertise to enhance infrastructure across the continent. The theme of energy access continued during a meeting between USG Duarte and Sidi Mohammed Bouchenak Khelladi, President of the National Economic, Social and Environmental Council. Duarte spoke about the Triple Paradoxes of financing, energy and food systems hampering Africa's development, highlighting Algeria's emergence as a regional energy power. She also discussed the interlinkages between Africa's access to financing and its development through the lenses of implementing people-centred policies in education, health and social protection during a meeting with Kaouter Krikou, Minister of National Solidarity, the Family and the Status of Women. Minister Krikou outlined the effectiveness of Algeria's approach.
Moving Forward Together
Duarte’s mission provided an opportunity to reaffirm the strength of the partnership between Algeria and the United Nations, leveraging the support of the United Nations Office of the Special Adviser on Africa (OSAA). Algeria could highlight its contribution to accelerating Africa’s rise, harnessing national capacities to support continental initiatives across several sectors, from energy access to digitization of public services. The commitment to boosting Africa’s role and position on the global stage, underpinned by a transformation of the global financial infrastructure, was evident, throughout these senior-level engagements. At the end of her trip, Duarte reiterated OSAA’s continued readiness to support this vital partnership to build “The Africa We Want. The Africa the World Needs.”