The Africa-Arab Partnership recently hosted a three-day event with continuous meetings discussing trade, investment, transport, communication and energy.
The event, which was held Feb. 3, took place at the Headquarters of the African Union Commission in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Co-chair Levi Madueke — head of Africa’s strategic partnerships within the Bureau of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC) — explained that the meeting was a follow-up to Cairo’s 2015 meetings in March and December. Madueke revealed the purpose of the meeting was to develop an Africa-Arab Action Plan concerning trade, investment, transport, communication and energy, all of which will be incorporated in the main Action Plan 2017-2019. That plan is set to be presented to the fourth Africa-Arab Summit, which is scheduled for November 2016 in Equatorial Guinea.
Madueke recapped the decision to consolidate the three groups in transport, communication and energy into one working group. Madueke also reassured members of the commission’s commitment to ensure any needed support or tools are provided to make sure the Africa-Arab Strategic Partnership framework meets all expectations.
Madueke went on to remind the group to consider the lessons learned during the implementation process of the Africa-Arab Partnership Action Plan 2011-2016 and to keep those lessons in mind while building the Action Plan 2017-2019. He added that the newly designed plan should focus on a limited number of projects, which will create tangible change to the lives of African and Arab peoples, and cited the need for a funding source and implementation process for each project.
In closing, Khaled Foda, director of the telecommunications department for the League of Arab States, noted the successes of the African Union (AU) at the AU Summit, thanked the commission for organizing the meeting and assured listeners that the meeting would be a great group success.
After the three-day event, all outcomes will be documented and taken into consideration by the ninth Senior Officials Meeting of the Coordination Committee of the Africa-Arab Partnership, which is scheduled for Feb. 29 in Cairo.
