Europe Partnership Needed To Industrialise Africa - AU Commission Chair
BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE
Africa, she said, was also in dire need of skills
development because of its growing young population who needed training
in order to contribute to the development of Africa and Europe.
The
Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Mrs Nkosazana Clarice
Dlamini Zuma, has urged Europe to partner Africa in an industrialisation
drive so that it can contribute more meaningfully to the world’s
economy.
Africa, she said, was also in dire need of skills development because
of its growing young population who needed training in order to
contribute to the development of Africa and Europe.
“With a growing and young population, Africa needs a skilled revolution and to scale up investments requires research technology and innovation.”
Courting Europe in her address at the 4th EU-Africa Summit in Brussels, Mrs Dlamini Zuma said while Africa’s plan of industrialisation – the African Industrial Development Plan (AIDP) – looked at agriculture as one of the drivers of industrialisation, a partnership with Europe would result in a win, win for everyone.
“So we need to look at growing and also processing our agricultural products. But because we still have a lot more land than you as our partners here, we can work together, so that Africa is food secure but also doesn’t only feed Africa, but also can contribute to the world, including Europe,” she stated.
Comparing the challenges Africa faced to hills that must be climbed, she said the pan-African priorities were captured by the African Agenda 2063, whose elements were reflected in the theme of the summit; “Investing in People, Prosperity and Peace”.
“Investing in people also requires the empowerment of women and the youth. For our partnership, this is a big hill that we have to climb together. We have to work together on training and skills development.
“Given the different demographic trajectories of our two continents, one is young and will continue being young into the future and the other one is aging. So we may have to, in the near future, share the human resources of our continent with you.
“So it is in both our interest that this human resource is skilled, so that it can contribute not only to the development of Africa, but also to Europe our partners,” she stated.
“But of course we know that all these cannot materialise and progress if we don’t silence the guns. And of course we have just come from a mini-summit to discuss CAR, but also there is South Sudan, there is Mali that is being stabilised, there is Dafur, Somalia and DRC and we hope to work together on all these.”
“And again this will be great for Africa, for inter-African trade and also for trade with Europe and it will be a great advantage for Europe to trade with Africa when we have one free trade in place,” Mrs Zuma stressed.
“Our partnership with Africa, like with any other partner, is constructed as a bridge and not as a barrier to more global cooperation. For us the era of fears of influence should be over. We need to replace it with wider circles of convergence,” he stressed.
For his part, Mr Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council, said Europe was committed to helping Africa bring an end to conflicts.
“We fervently support your aspiration to silence the guns by 2020,” Mr Rompuy stated, and added that the EU provided financial assistance for that cause through the African Peace Facility and that funds for the next two years had been almost doubled.
Mr Mohammed Ould Abdel Aziz, President of the African Union, said, “We will work tirelessly to find solutions to our problems but we may not have the means to implement and bring about the solutions on our own and hence we will then call upon partners and the global community to support our efforts.”
- See more at:
http://graphic.com.gh/news/politics/20971-europe-partnership-needed-to-industrialise-africa-au-commission-chair.html#sthash.KJei9hSp.dpuf“With a growing and young population, Africa needs a skilled revolution and to scale up investments requires research technology and innovation.”
Courting Europe in her address at the 4th EU-Africa Summit in Brussels, Mrs Dlamini Zuma said while Africa’s plan of industrialisation – the African Industrial Development Plan (AIDP) – looked at agriculture as one of the drivers of industrialisation, a partnership with Europe would result in a win, win for everyone.
“So we need to look at growing and also processing our agricultural products. But because we still have a lot more land than you as our partners here, we can work together, so that Africa is food secure but also doesn’t only feed Africa, but also can contribute to the world, including Europe,” she stated.
The Need for Industrialisation and Skills Development
The AU Commission Chairperson also indicated that Africa was looking at transformative policies that would enable it add value to its material resources, “so that we can grow trade in manufactured goods, in addition to the raw materials that we are already exporting.”Comparing the challenges Africa faced to hills that must be climbed, she said the pan-African priorities were captured by the African Agenda 2063, whose elements were reflected in the theme of the summit; “Investing in People, Prosperity and Peace”.
“Investing in people also requires the empowerment of women and the youth. For our partnership, this is a big hill that we have to climb together. We have to work together on training and skills development.
“Given the different demographic trajectories of our two continents, one is young and will continue being young into the future and the other one is aging. So we may have to, in the near future, share the human resources of our continent with you.
“So it is in both our interest that this human resource is skilled, so that it can contribute not only to the development of Africa, but also to Europe our partners,” she stated.
Security
While asking for Europe’s partnership and technology transfer to enable Africa to contribute meaningfully to the world’s economy, she admitted that it could only be achieved if there was peace on the African continent.“But of course we know that all these cannot materialise and progress if we don’t silence the guns. And of course we have just come from a mini-summit to discuss CAR, but also there is South Sudan, there is Mali that is being stabilised, there is Dafur, Somalia and DRC and we hope to work together on all these.”
Trade
Touching on trade, she said “the African continent would like to have a continental free trade area by 2070. This may be ambitious, but it is something that we want to achieve in the near future and we hope that whatever we do together as partners will reinforce the possibility of having this continental free trade.“And again this will be great for Africa, for inter-African trade and also for trade with Europe and it will be a great advantage for Europe to trade with Africa when we have one free trade in place,” Mrs Zuma stressed.
Tribute to Nelson Mandela
Paying glowing tribute to the late Nelson Mandela, Mr José Manuel Barosso, President of the European Commission, said he hoped his commitment to peace, freedom and justice and his wisdom would inspire discussions at the summit.“Our partnership with Africa, like with any other partner, is constructed as a bridge and not as a barrier to more global cooperation. For us the era of fears of influence should be over. We need to replace it with wider circles of convergence,” he stressed.
For his part, Mr Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council, said Europe was committed to helping Africa bring an end to conflicts.
“We fervently support your aspiration to silence the guns by 2020,” Mr Rompuy stated, and added that the EU provided financial assistance for that cause through the African Peace Facility and that funds for the next two years had been almost doubled.
Mr Mohammed Ould Abdel Aziz, President of the African Union, said, “We will work tirelessly to find solutions to our problems but we may not have the means to implement and bring about the solutions on our own and hence we will then call upon partners and the global community to support our efforts.”
 |
| Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, Chairperson of the African Union Commission |
The Chairperson of the African Union Commission,
Mrs Nkosazana Clarice Dlamini Zuma, has urged Europe to partner Africa
in an industrialisation drive so that it can contribute more
meaningfully to the world’s economy.
“With a growing and young population, Africa needs a
skilled revolution and to scale up investments requires research
technology and innovation.”
Courting Europe in her address at the 4th EU-Africa
Summit in Brussels, Mrs Dlamini Zuma said while Africa’s plan of
industrialisation – the African Industrial Development Plan (AIDP) –
looked at agriculture as one of the drivers of industrialisation, a
partnership with Europe would result in a win, win for everyone.
“So we need to look at growing and also processing
our agricultural products. But because we still have a lot more land
than you as our partners here, we can work together, so that Africa is
food secure but also doesn’t only feed Africa, but also can contribute
to the world, including Europe,” she stated.
The Need for Industrialisation and Skills Development
The AU Commission Chairperson also indicated that
Africa was looking at transformative policies that would enable it add
value to its material resources, “so that we can grow trade in
manufactured goods, in addition to the raw materials that we are already
exporting.”
Comparing the challenges Africa faced to hills that
must be climbed, she said the pan-African priorities were captured by
the African Agenda 2063, whose elements were reflected in the theme of
the summit; “Investing in People, Prosperity and Peace”.
“Investing in people also requires the empowerment
of women and the youth. For our partnership, this is a big hill that we
have to climb together. We have to work together on training and skills
development.
“Given the different demographic trajectories of
our two continents, one is young and will continue being young into the
future and the other one is aging. So we may have to, in the near
future, share the human resources of our continent with you.
“So it is in both our interest that this human
resource is skilled, so that it can contribute not only to the
development of Africa, but also to Europe our partners,” she stated.
Security
While asking for Europe’s partnership and
technology transfer to enable Africa to contribute meaningfully to the
world’s economy, she admitted that it could only be achieved if there
was peace on the African continent.
“But of course we know that all these cannot
materialise and progress if we don’t silence the guns. And of course we
have just come from a mini-summit to discuss CAR, but also there is
South Sudan, there is Mali that is being stabilised, there is Dafur,
Somalia and DRC and we hope to work together on all these.”
Trade
Touching on trade, she said “the African continent
would like to have a continental free trade area by 2070. This may be
ambitious, but it is something that we want to achieve in the near
future and we hope that whatever we do together as partners will
reinforce the possibility of having this continental free trade.
“And again this will be great for Africa, for
inter-African trade and also for trade with Europe and it will be a
great advantage for Europe to trade with Africa when we have one free
trade in place,” Mrs Zuma stressed.
Tribute to Nelson Mandela
Paying glowing tribute to the late Nelson Mandela,
Mr José Manuel Barosso, President of the European Commission, said he
hoped his commitment to peace, freedom and justice and his wisdom would
inspire discussions at the summit.
“Our partnership with Africa, like with any other
partner, is constructed as a bridge and not as a barrier to more global
cooperation. For us the era of fears of influence should be over. We
need to replace it with wider circles of convergence,” he stressed.
For his part, Mr Herman Van Rompuy, President of
the European Council, said Europe was committed to helping Africa bring
an end to conflicts.
“We fervently support your aspiration to silence
the guns by 2020,” Mr Rompuy stated, and added that the EU provided
financial assistance for that cause through the African Peace Facility
and that funds for the next two years had been almost doubled.
Mr Mohammed Ould Abdel Aziz, President of the
African Union, said, “We will work tirelessly to find solutions to our
problems but we may not have the means to implement and bring about the
solutions on our own and hence we will then call upon partners and the
global community to support our efforts.”
This story was first published by the Daily Graphic on April 8, 2014
The
Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Mrs Nkosazana Clarice
Dlamini Zuma, has urged Europe to partner Africa in an industrialisation
drive so that it can contribute more meaningfully to the world’s
economy.
Africa, she said, was also in dire need of skills development because
of its growing young population who needed training in order to
contribute to the development of Africa and Europe.
“With a growing and young population, Africa needs a skilled revolution and to scale up investments requires research technology and innovation.”
Courting Europe in her address at the 4th EU-Africa Summit in Brussels, Mrs Dlamini Zuma said while Africa’s plan of industrialisation – the African Industrial Development Plan (AIDP) – looked at agriculture as one of the drivers of industrialisation, a partnership with Europe would result in a win, win for everyone.
“So we need to look at growing and also processing our agricultural products. But because we still have a lot more land than you as our partners here, we can work together, so that Africa is food secure but also doesn’t only feed Africa, but also can contribute to the world, including Europe,” she stated.
Comparing the challenges Africa faced to hills that must be climbed, she said the pan-African priorities were captured by the African Agenda 2063, whose elements were reflected in the theme of the summit; “Investing in People, Prosperity and Peace”.
“Investing in people also requires the empowerment of women and the youth. For our partnership, this is a big hill that we have to climb together. We have to work together on training and skills development.
“Given the different demographic trajectories of our two continents, one is young and will continue being young into the future and the other one is aging. So we may have to, in the near future, share the human resources of our continent with you.
“So it is in both our interest that this human resource is skilled, so that it can contribute not only to the development of Africa, but also to Europe our partners,” she stated.
“But of course we know that all these cannot materialise and progress if we don’t silence the guns. And of course we have just come from a mini-summit to discuss CAR, but also there is South Sudan, there is Mali that is being stabilised, there is Dafur, Somalia and DRC and we hope to work together on all these.”
“And again this will be great for Africa, for inter-African trade and also for trade with Europe and it will be a great advantage for Europe to trade with Africa when we have one free trade in place,” Mrs Zuma stressed.
“Our partnership with Africa, like with any other partner, is constructed as a bridge and not as a barrier to more global cooperation. For us the era of fears of influence should be over. We need to replace it with wider circles of convergence,” he stressed.
For his part, Mr Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council, said Europe was committed to helping Africa bring an end to conflicts.
“We fervently support your aspiration to silence the guns by 2020,” Mr Rompuy stated, and added that the EU provided financial assistance for that cause through the African Peace Facility and that funds for the next two years had been almost doubled.
Mr Mohammed Ould Abdel Aziz, President of the African Union, said, “We will work tirelessly to find solutions to our problems but we may not have the means to implement and bring about the solutions on our own and hence we will then call upon partners and the global community to support our efforts.”
- See more at:
http://graphic.com.gh/news/politics/20971-europe-partnership-needed-to-industrialise-africa-au-commission-chair.html#sthash.KJei9hSp.dpuf“With a growing and young population, Africa needs a skilled revolution and to scale up investments requires research technology and innovation.”
Courting Europe in her address at the 4th EU-Africa Summit in Brussels, Mrs Dlamini Zuma said while Africa’s plan of industrialisation – the African Industrial Development Plan (AIDP) – looked at agriculture as one of the drivers of industrialisation, a partnership with Europe would result in a win, win for everyone.
“So we need to look at growing and also processing our agricultural products. But because we still have a lot more land than you as our partners here, we can work together, so that Africa is food secure but also doesn’t only feed Africa, but also can contribute to the world, including Europe,” she stated.
The Need for Industrialisation and Skills Development
The AU Commission Chairperson also indicated that Africa was looking at transformative policies that would enable it add value to its material resources, “so that we can grow trade in manufactured goods, in addition to the raw materials that we are already exporting.”Comparing the challenges Africa faced to hills that must be climbed, she said the pan-African priorities were captured by the African Agenda 2063, whose elements were reflected in the theme of the summit; “Investing in People, Prosperity and Peace”.
“Investing in people also requires the empowerment of women and the youth. For our partnership, this is a big hill that we have to climb together. We have to work together on training and skills development.
“Given the different demographic trajectories of our two continents, one is young and will continue being young into the future and the other one is aging. So we may have to, in the near future, share the human resources of our continent with you.
“So it is in both our interest that this human resource is skilled, so that it can contribute not only to the development of Africa, but also to Europe our partners,” she stated.
Security
While asking for Europe’s partnership and technology transfer to enable Africa to contribute meaningfully to the world’s economy, she admitted that it could only be achieved if there was peace on the African continent.“But of course we know that all these cannot materialise and progress if we don’t silence the guns. And of course we have just come from a mini-summit to discuss CAR, but also there is South Sudan, there is Mali that is being stabilised, there is Dafur, Somalia and DRC and we hope to work together on all these.”
Trade
Touching on trade, she said “the African continent would like to have a continental free trade area by 2070. This may be ambitious, but it is something that we want to achieve in the near future and we hope that whatever we do together as partners will reinforce the possibility of having this continental free trade.“And again this will be great for Africa, for inter-African trade and also for trade with Europe and it will be a great advantage for Europe to trade with Africa when we have one free trade in place,” Mrs Zuma stressed.
Tribute to Nelson Mandela
Paying glowing tribute to the late Nelson Mandela, Mr José Manuel Barosso, President of the European Commission, said he hoped his commitment to peace, freedom and justice and his wisdom would inspire discussions at the summit.“Our partnership with Africa, like with any other partner, is constructed as a bridge and not as a barrier to more global cooperation. For us the era of fears of influence should be over. We need to replace it with wider circles of convergence,” he stressed.
For his part, Mr Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council, said Europe was committed to helping Africa bring an end to conflicts.
“We fervently support your aspiration to silence the guns by 2020,” Mr Rompuy stated, and added that the EU provided financial assistance for that cause through the African Peace Facility and that funds for the next two years had been almost doubled.
Mr Mohammed Ould Abdel Aziz, President of the African Union, said, “We will work tirelessly to find solutions to our problems but we may not have the means to implement and bring about the solutions on our own and hence we will then call upon partners and the global community to support our efforts.”
Comments
Post a Comment