Speech by President El-Sisi during the 40th Session of the NEPAD HSGOC

“In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful

My brother, Your Excellency President Macky Sall, Chairperson of the African Union (AU),

My brother, Your Excellency President Paul Kagame, Chairperson of the AUDA-NEPAD Heads of State and Government Orientation Committee,

Heads of State and Government of the NEPAD Steering Committee,

Your Excellency, Mr. Moussa Faki, Chairman of the African Union Commission,

Ms Nardos Bekele-Thomas, Chief Executive Officer of AUDA-NEPAD,

Allow me, at the outset of my speech, to sincerely thank, my brother, His Excellency President Paul Kagame for the efforts he made during his term as Chairman of the Committee over the past three years, particularly in the face of enormous challenges during that period.

I also thank you for the valuable trust you have put in me to assume the chairmanship of the Committee as the successor to President Kagame.

I would also like to express appreciation for the Senegalese Presidency of the African Union. Over the course of a year, my brother, His Excellency President Macky Sall, has made diligent efforts to support the African continent's positions and defend its interests in various international fora.

In this regard, I would also like to commend the outcome of the summit hosted by Senegal in early February to finance the continent’s infrastructure projects.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The international economic crisis we are experiencing undoubtedly undermines our continent's development efforts, necessitating the consideration of new and non-traditional financing resources.

It also requires efforts to be made, with the continent's partners, to resolve the accumulated debt crisis so that the continent can regain the pace of economic recovery.

Allow me, in this regard, to review with you the priorities of Egypt as the chair of the African Union Development Agency, NEPAD.

From 2023 to 2025, representing targets, Egypt will strive to achieve cooperation with our fraternal African countries and through the Agency’s secretariat:

First, intensifying efforts to mobilize financial resources in priority areas for the continent. These efforts include the development of infrastructure that would help achieve the objectives of Africa’s development blueprint, Agenda 2063, particularly through mobilizing funding for the list of priority projects in the field of infrastructure which includes 69 projects from 2021 to 2030. Those projects include the navigational line between Lake Victoria and the Mediterranean Sea (VICMED), which I have the honor to lead, as well as the Cairo-Cape Town Road, among other projects of importance to our countries.

Second, focusing on the axis of industrial transformation and building on the results of the African Union (AU) Extraordinary Summit on Industrialization, which was held in Niamey in November 2022, thus ensuring the promotion of regional value chains that have become an absolute necessity, particularly after the repercussions of the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

Third, accelerating the realization of the target aspirations of the African Continental Free Trade (AfCFTA) Agreement by completing negotiations on all additional protocols to the agreement. This is with supporting African countries to maximize the benefits that the agreement would provide, in terms of global economy integration opportunities and an increase in job opportunities increase, especially among the youth and women.

Fourth, emphasizing the importance of African countries sharing their expertise in the infrastructure field, as Egypt has engaged in a pioneering development experience in this field over the past eight years.

In this regard, I would also like to point out a mega development project, Julius Nyerere Dam in Tanzania. The dam sets a good example to be followed in terms of cooperation between African countries in the field of development. Julius Nyerere Dam is being implemented by Egyptian and Tanzanian hands. We are more than willing to share the experience of the Egyptian companies with other fraternal African countries.

Fifth, intensifying cooperation and coordination with international partners and international financing institutions to bridge the financing gap in sustainable development projects and reduce debt burdens for the most affected countries. This shall be achieved while making use of the new initiatives that are introduced during the partnership summits of the African Union.

Distinguished Guests,

I look forward to coordinating on the priorities of the Egyptian chairmanship of NEPAD with, my brothers, their Excellencies Heads of State and Government, members of the Steering Committee, and getting acquainted with their proposals in this regard. The Egyptian chairmanship of NEPAD comes as a representation of the brotherly countries of the continent. These priorities represent goals that we all look forward to achieve in order to meet the aspirations of our peoples and achieve the development we seek.

Thank you,

May Allah’s peace and blessings be upon you”