Addis Ababa, 31 March 2016 (ECA) – “Regional integration should be seen as the means and opportunity to step up sustainable growth in Africa,” said Mr. Rene Guettia Kouassi, Director in the Economic Affairs Department of the African Union Commission, Thursday, at the opening of the Committee of Experts of the 9th Joint ECA-AU Conference of Ministers. The experts are meeting ahead of the Ministerial segment next week on the theme: “Towards an integrated and coherent approach to the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals.”
In his address to the experts, Mr. Kouassi urged African countries to speed up the pace of integration efforts. “Some goals have been fulfilled, but the problem is the pace; it is still slow, compared to the rest of the world”, he said.
According to the Abuja Treaty, Regional integration remains a viable strategy for Africa to achieve sustainable economic growth and development, reduce poverty and participate effectively in the globalization process. Mr. Kouasi noted that along the Abuja Treaty path, the continent’s Regional Economic Communities were to achieve integration more broadly in the last phase: 2009-2018. He however, stressed that Africa’s regional integration commitments have suffered a lack of implementation. As an example, the Abuja Treaty states that a continental Customs Union should be established by 2019. “We are not there yet. We need to improve this state of affairs,” said Mr. Kouassi.
He commended the East African Community (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and Rwanda) for making progress towards integration through the achievement of a common market in 2010. He also urged African countries to address the challenges to regional integration, such as concerns about sovereignty, non-integrated infrastructure, vulnerability to shocks and poor logistics services.
A highlight of the week is the launch the seventh edition of Assessing Regional Integration in Africa (ARIA VII) titled, “Innovation, Competitiveness and Regional Integration,” as well
as the Regional Integration Index. Jointly published by the ECA, AUC and the African Development Bank, the Reports assert the imperative for Regional Integration as both a driver and beneficiary of innovation.
For his part, Mr. Adam Elhiraika, Director of the Macroeconomic Policy Division at the ECA responded to a concern raised by the audience on the role inflation has played in curtailing the continent’s integration efforts stating: “African countries trade more with each other; and that this is one way to reduce inflation,” which plagued many countries in 2015.
“Africa should produce more consumer goods for the regional market and cease depending
on goods from outside the continent,” he recommended.
The annual Conference brings together representatives from the member States of the two institutions dealing with Finance Monetary Affairs, Economic Planning and Integration and Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development. This year, the Conference is taking place under the banner of the African Development week.
The African Development Week concludes on 5 April.
Note to the AU/editors: ECA uses the title of Doctor only for medical doctors hence Dr. Rene N’Guettia Kouassi is referred to as Mister in the press release.
Issued by:
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Economique Commission for Africa
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E-mail: ecainfo@uneca.org