Addis Ababa, February 12: The Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), Clever Gatete, has urged African nations to enhance their efforts in mobilizing and managing development finance effectively. He emphasized the need to deepen continental market integration to robustly face global economic uncertainties.
Addressing the inaugural session of the 48th regular session of the African Union’s Executive Council at the AU headquarters in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, Gatete noted that African foreign ministers are convening at a time when the world is undergoing “deep economic transformations.” These changes are marked by slowing global economic growth, increasing trade tensions, and the restructuring of supply chains, as reported by the Xinhua News Agency.
Gatete stated, “We are moving towards a world economy organized around industrial strategies, geopolitical competition, and control over key resources. In short, the rules of development are changing.”
He pointed out that capital is becoming increasingly expensive, and there is a decline in development aid. Additionally, worsening security conditions and the ongoing impacts of climate change are exacerbating these economic challenges.
The UNECA chief warned that reliance on external partners, which includes dependence on raw material exports, imports of manufactured goods, and concessional financial flows, is no longer a viable model for developing countries.
He asserted, “The message for Africa is clear: our development can no longer primarily depend on external circumstances. It must be organized around our own continental economic system.”
To navigate the complex global economic landscape effectively, Gatete called on African nations to harness their natural resources and add value to them.
He proposed five key actions for the continent: effectively mobilizing and managing development finance, investing in integrated productive infrastructure, accelerating value addition through regional value chains under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement, deepening continental market integration, and developing technology and data as economic infrastructure.
This Executive Council meeting, held under the 39th AU Summit, includes foreign ministers from member countries. The gathering is organized under the AU’s 2026 theme, “Ensuring Sustainable Water Availability and Safe Sanitation Systems to Achieve Agenda 2063 Goals.”
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