Announced to be held in May 2022, the54thsession of the Conference of Ministers of the Economic Commission for Africa (CoM2022/ECA) opened in Senegal on Wednesday, 11 May 2022. For a better sustainable economic recovery of the African continent, several points are under discussion.
After the53rdsession of the ECA Conference of Ministers (CoM 2022) which focused on « Sustainable industrialization and diversification of Africa in the digital era in the context of Covid-19 », Dakar has been hosting the 54thsession of the said Conference since 11 May 2022. Under the theme “Financing Africa’s Recovery: Reaching New Horizons”, the meeting, which is being held in a hybrid format and jointly organized by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the Government of Senegal, brings together high-level panellists from Governments, academia, the private sector, as well as central bank governors from Africa and elsewhere. On the occasion of this conference, the opening of which was made by President Macky Sall of Senegal, also current Chairman of the African Union, the Committee of Experts will exchange, three (03) days, on technical topics related to the theme of the said conference and certain statutory issues of the ECA. According to the ECA press team, a number of side events will also be organized on 14 and 15 May to address issues related to health, infrastructure, education, climate action and resource mobilization to support the inclusive and sustainable recovery of African economies.
CoM2022 will also be the occasion for the launch of the ECA Phare Economic Report on Africa (era), the ECA Adebayo Adedeji Annual Conference, which this year will focus on the role of higher education and human capital development in Africa’s transformation, a series of discussions and an update on the state of regional integration, trade and the AfCFTA. The choice of theme for CoM 2022, according to ECA, has been largely influenced by the fact that development finance gaps have widened considerably since the outbreak of the pandemic. For Africa, the IMF estimates that annual spending related to the Sustainable Development Goals will increase by US $154 billion per year, due to the pandemic, and an additional US $285 billion over the next five years to ensure an adequate response to COVID-19. ECA believes that reducing the cost of trade credit will be key to mitigating debt-related vulnerabilities. The Commission also suggests that increased funding will require measures that create synergies between domestic and external funding from public and private sources.
Adapted and Translated from French into English by:
Albéric Djomaki,
CEO at LMS (www.lmsgroupafrica.com)
American Translators Association (ATA) Associate Member
References:
Conférence des ministres de la CEA 2022 : Le financement de la relance de l’Afrique en ligne de mire
