Csaba Kőrösi, President of the 77th session of the General Assembly

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High-level Policy Dialogue of the Africa Dialogue Series

22 May 2023

(Pre-recorded message)

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I address you today with a message of hope.

Africa’s emergence is within reach.

Over the last decades, it has made great strides in improving the quality of life, including better education and longer life expectancies.

Africa has also played an indispensable role in preserving our planet by having carbon emissions well below the global average.

It has the world’s youngest demographic composition, the fastest urbanization, one third of the world’s natural resources, and more than half of our renewable energy.

With all that, the continent stands as a land of opportunity and sustainability.

At the same time, Africa’s role in the world still does not reflect its potential.

The years of the pandemic have stunted its economic growth and sent inflation rates soaring to record highs.

COVID-19 has also exposed the global asymmetry in response capacity.

Worse, many African countries are held hostage by heightening geopolitical rivalries.

Cynically exploited local conflicts and fragmented governance are causing immense human suffering across the continent.

The recent outbreak of fighting in Sudan is another tragic tale of instability, irresponsibility, and immorality.

For all that, I remain optimistic.

This year’s AU theme, “Acceleration of African Continental Free Trade Area Implementation”, could not have been timelier.

The FTA is a strong signal to the international community that Africa is open for business.

For the Free Trade Area to be a success, we need long-term investments in infrastructure.

As Paul Kagame reminds us, “infrastructure is key, but so is how it is used – and that is political.”

The majority of African businesses are small- to middle-scale.

The implementation of the FTA must protect these, particularly artisanal, youth, women, and cross-border traders.

The Continental Free Trade Area represents African unity.

It needs to prioritize intra-African solidarity and cooperation.

Because, as things stand, only 16% of trade is intra-African, a disproportionately low figure compared to intercontinental trade.

But the implementation of the Free Trade Area should also strengthen solidarity with Africa.

This calls for an urgent redesign of our global financial architecture.

It must be more just, treating Africa without the bias it so often falls prey to when accessing credit for development.

The implementation of AfCFTA can open a new market to 1.2 billion people and is projected to lift 50 million people out of extreme poverty.

This is huge.

But real and sustainable development requires genuine political will. National and regional strategies, plans and well designed projects – all aligned with the principles of sustainability transformation.

To launch systemic and structural changes where needed. 

Today I appeal to you to reconfirm your ownership of this transformation.

In Agenda 2063, the aim is “an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens, representing a dynamic force in the international arena”.

This is the Africa we want. 

This is the Africa we must create.

Thank you.