2015-10-13 16:04:00

Africa Week at the United Nations


At the United Nations (UN) Headquarters Monday, the Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched Africa Week by commending African Member States of the United Nations for taking an “important step” this year towards the establishment of a Continental Free Trade Area envisioned in the African Union’s Agenda 2063.

Ban Ki-Moon also outlined ways in which he has been addressing peace and security challenges in Africa.

“I have recently convened, in close cooperation with the African Union and key sub-regional organisations, High-level Meetings on the situations in the Central African Republic, Congo, Libya, Mali, Somalia and South Sudan,” he said. “Let us also continue to work together to resolve the pressing refugee and migration crisis.”

Speaking about the Africa Week, President of the 70th session of the General Assembly, Denmark's former parliament speaker Mogens Lykketoft said the events of 2015 offer an “unprecedented opportunity” for Africa to reduce poverty, foster sustainable and inclusive economic growth and to integrate into the global economy.

Lykketoft said he wished to encourage African leaders to sustain the political will and commitment needed for truly beneficial regional integration, adding that the UN must also assist the African Union and its regional economic communities as they work to put in place policies that support regional integration.

Africa Week is being held from 12 October to 16 October 2015 under the theme, “Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: Moving from Aspirations to Reality”. It is being celebrated in the context of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations and is an annual event organised on the margins of the General Assembly.

During the week, the UN’s Office of the Special Adviser on Africa (OSAA), among other matters hopes to popularise and mobilise international support for the African Union (AU)’s Agenda 2063.

Africa Week celebrates and showcases Africa’s continuous advancements and achievements with respect to social, economic, political and environmental development. The Week also brings to the fore awareness on the new and emerging challenges confronting the continent, with an aim to mobilise international support at the global level for Africa’s development priorities and its inclusive transformative agenda.

 (Source: UN agencies)








All the contents on this site are copyrighted ©.