Kampala, 29 July 2015 (ECA) - The Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa, Mr. Carlos Lopes paid a visit to Kampala, Uganda at the invitation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the UN Country Team to address a High Level Dialogue Session on Financing for Development together with the President of the 69th General Assembly of the United Nations, Minister Sam Kutesa. The High-Level Dialogue took place on 20 July, following the conclusion of the International Conference on Financing for Development in Addis Ababa. It was seen as an opportunity to devolve the outcomes of the Conference and to discuss Uganda’s focus and shift towards domestic resource mobilization.
In his keynote speech, Mr. Lopes noted that the implementation of the post-2015 Agenda would require its internalization and customization to the specific needs and peculiarities of the local environment and context. He lauded the Government of Uganda for its strong tradition of development planning that dates back to the era of Poverty Reduction Strategies and the country’s Vision 2040, which is centred on key elements of economic, social and environment sustainability.
The Executive Secretary also participated as a discussant in a panel on The Potential of Untapped Resources for Financing for Sustainable Development in Uganda, together with high level government officials, representatives of the Uganda Revenue Authority, the Deputy Governor of the Bank of Uganda and the UN Resident Coordinator.
In his intervention, Mr. Lopes focused on the need to focus Official Development Assistance on seven top priorities, which include: enabling development, tax administration and customs, development of credit insurance schemes, intellectual property, reform of the education sector, debt management systems and transnational infrastructure management.
Mr. Lopes also took the time to meet with Uganda’s UN Country Team and shared his reflections on Africa’s emerging transformative agenda with the UN Heads of Agencies and IMF. He also met, in this regard, with Ambassadors resident in the country.
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