A/73/PV.23 General Assembly

It is a great pleasure to join members today. Allow me to thank those members who participated over the course of the three-day 2018 Africa Dialogue Series. I am informed that many pertinent and invaluable points have emerged from the proceedings, which I believe underscores the importance of that dialogue. It is particularly reassuring that the partnership between the United Nations and the African Union is seen as being stronger than at any other time in history. That is good for Africa. It is also good for the world. We can all benefit from that lesson as we work to strengthen multilateralism. In that connection, the implementation of the Joint United Nations-African Union Framework for an Enhanced Partnership in Peace and Security and the African Union-United Nations Framework for the Implementation of Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development requires the continuing support of the international community. Africa also continues to be a leader in other areas. I commend the fact that Africa has more women in peacekeeping missions than any other region. Approximately 64 per cent of female peacekeepers come from Africa. That is in addition to the fact that Africa already contributes nearly half of all peacekeepers. In that regard, I would also like to echo other colleagues and the international community in commending Ethiopia on achieving gender parity in its Cabinet. It has joined a select few countries that have achieved that ratio. Likewise, I must acknowledge our newest Nobel laureates — Mr. Denis Mukwege of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ms. Nadia Murad of Iraq — who have worked tirelessly to help end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict. That is remarkable, and we thank them for their commitment. We are here today to reflect on the three reports of the Secretary-General submitted to the General Assembly on agenda item 68, entitled “New Partnership for Africa’s Development: progress in implementation and international support” (A/73/269, A/73/270 and A/73/273). I commend the Secretary-General for the quality of the reports before us. Allow me to make two very quick points. First, I am pleased to see that the report (A/73/269) on the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) notes that African countries continue to make progress on the implementation of each of NEPAD’s priority areas. The programme for infrastructure development in Africa, for instance, is addressing the infrastructure deficit on the continent. The interregional highways, one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects, will help to link Ethiopia, Kenya and South Sudan. That physical integration is being mirrored through trade policy. The establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area, for example, represents a crucial step towards the creation of a single African market. Finally, progress towards the implementation of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) opens up a vast horizon of opportunities for the transformation of the continent. In that context, I note how closely that initiative is linked to the decent-work priority of the seventy-third session of the General Assembly. In the case of Africa, the huge youth population alone makes progress on the CAADP a necessity. Each of those developments points to major shifts forward towards the African Union’s vision for an integrated, peaceful and prosperous Africa. However, my second point is that greater support is needed, in my view, to accelerate and sustain progress. Commitments to official development assistance and other financing, including financing for indirect investment, technology transfer, capacity-building and market access, must be fulfilled in the spirit of true partnership. African countries, the regional economic communities and the African Union have made great strides in building African capacities to tackle threats to peace and security. In order to support those efforts, there should be adequate, predictable and sustained financing for African Union-led peace operations authorized by the Security Council. Africa is at the heart of everything that we do at United Nations. We cannot succeed elsewhere if we have not succeeded in Africa.

I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the Group of African States, and would like to align myself with the statement to be delivered by the representative of Egypt on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. We welcome the reports of the Secretary-General (A/73/269, A/73/270 and A/73/273) on the items under discussion. We wish to express our appreciation to the Secretary-General for his leadership and continued commitment in placing Africa’s agenda at the heart of the United Nations development system. It is a testimony to the valuable partnership that has continued to exist between the African Union (AU) and the United Nations. This year’s general debate coincided with the Africa Dialogue Series, which served as a valuable occasion to highlight the synergies linking the various processes and the seriousness that must be attached to the development needs of the continent. There is no doubt that the United Nations-AU partnership for Africa’s development is a key tool in strengthening complementarities and in accelerating the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the AU’s Agenda 2063. We are pleased that this year the Office of the Special Adviser on Africa adopted a new approach for the Africa Dialogue Series, and we commend its efforts in advancing Africa’s development agenda. We believe that such synergy and balance are fundamental to efforts to address the particular development needs of our continent. As such, it should be sustained and improved upon in the coming years. The African Group appreciates the valuable analysis, information and policy recommendations contained in the Secretary-General’s reports. They address critical issues in the debate and advocacy for Africa’s inclusive growth and sustainable development. Since the adoption by the African Heads of State and Government of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), the Partnership has continued to reflect Africa’s vision and strategic framework for the political and socioeconomic transformation of various priority areas, including agriculture, food security, climate change and natural-resource management, as well as regional integration and infrastructure. NEPAD has remained committed to facilitating and implementing Africa’s priority programmes and to the consolidation of positive policy initiatives already adopted by African Member States for the transformation of the continent. We take this opportunity to express appreciation to our development partners for their assistance in the progress that the continent has made in the implementation of its various programmes and projects. We further request all partners to support efforts by African countries to promote and maintain macroeconomic stability, including by facilitating the development and transfer of technology to African countries. The existence of the global digital divide highlights the need for further investment and the allocation of adequate resources in order to prevent Africa from being left behind on the path to the information society, as the Secretary-General warns in his report (A/73/269). We note the findings of the Secretary-General’s report, particularly the existence of obstacles to the realization of the full potential of the application of information and communications technologies, especially in Africa. The harmonization of the policy and regulatory framework in the information and communications technology sector is gaining momentum on the continent, and the African Union is making considerable efforts in that direction. We therefore call on the international community to take the relevant steps towards the achievement of a people-centred, development- oriented information society that is comprehensive in its inclusivity and committed to the Tunis Agenda for the Information Society. The African Group notes with great satisfaction that the report of the Secretary-General emphasizes that agriculture remains at the centre of Africa’s development agenda. As indicated in the report, Africa has enormous agricultural potential. The continent boasts the largest share of the world’s uncultivated fertile land, abundant water resources and proximity to transportation links and regional markets. It is therefore natural that our agriculture forms a significant portion of the economies of all African countries. As a sector with the potential to create jobs for African youth and thereby improve their livelihood, we are convinced that, with adequate investment, African agriculture can contribute to intra-Africa trade and development and economic diversification. However, in order to eradicate poverty, which remains an overarching goal for the African Group, such assistance and investment must be socially responsible, environmentally sustainable and ultimately beneficial to all, including smallholder farmers. The signing in 2017 of the Joint United Nations-AU Framework for an Enhanced Partnership in Peace and Security and the follow-up signing in January of the AU-United Nations Framework for the Implementation of Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development demonstrate the commitment of the two organizations to aligning their cooperation with priority areas. In that regard, the Group stresses the need to promote an effective and efficient implementation, follow-up and review of both Frameworks so as to maximize their impact and results on the ground. I would like to stress that a multifaceted approach, involving the mobilization of resources and the strengthening of global partnerships for development, is required in order to achieve that lofty objective. Sustainable development is a collective opportunity and responsibility that should be achieved through multilateral cooperation, the honouring of international commitments and the provision of means of implementation support to developing countries. We are concerned about the growing debt crisis, and we request assistance aimed at ensuring that our volatility is curtailed. In that connection, we request assistance to strengthen the national capacities of African States to access sources of revenue that can be used to boost growth and development. It is also important that developed countries and official development assistance (ODA) providers continue to uphold their commitments, in keeping with their previous undertakings to scale up ODA efforts. The African Group further agrees with the Secretary-General that natural disasters and the effects of climate change severely affect vulnerable regions and populations, particularly those of Africa. Africa is essentially in a disadvantaged position in the pursuit of sustainable development. As such, increased international assistance in the areas of financing, trade, technology transfer and debt relief will be essential for efforts to support African countries in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. We appeal to the international community to enhance support and fulfil its commitments by taking further action in areas critical to Africa’s economic and social development. The African Group agrees with the Secretary- General that illicit financial flows deprive the continent of vital resources for financing its development priorities. Stopping those illicit flows and repatriating illicit assets and funds to their countries of origin will provide the region with increased resources for financing health, education, infrastructure and critical development needs. We urge development partners to support efforts by the African Union and African countries to stop that menace through improved transparency in tax systems, as well as by disclosing the full beneficial ownership structure of companies. We note the negative impact of gender disparity manifested in the culture and norms of some African countries. While the leaders of the region continue to take steps to address that challenge in the interest of all, the African Union, through its various educational initiatives and the African Peer Review Mechanism, will continue to persevere in the right direction with regard to that very sensitive issue. Finally, peace, security and good governance are of the utmost priority in all development processes. While Africa has experienced a period of sustained economic growth and social progress in the past two decades, the effects of wars and violent crimes still persist. We request the United Nations system, partners and all Member States to continue to assist African countries emerging from conflict in their efforts to build national capacities by fulfilling commitments relevant to creating an environment conducive to peace, security and sustainable development in Africa.

I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. At the outset, I wish to express our appreciation for the valuable analysis, information and policy recommendations contained in the Secretary-General’s reports (A/73/269, A/73/270 and A/73/273), which contribute to the debate on issues that are crucial to Africa’s inclusive growth and sustainable development. The African Union’s Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want and its first 10-year implementation plan demonstrate Africa’s shared visions and actions towards peace and development. The adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in 2015 further underscored the shared commitment of the international community to working tirelessly to eradicate poverty in all its forms and dimensions and to achieving sustainable development in its three dimensions in a balanced and integrated manner. The Group recognizes the complementarities between Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In that regard, it is crucial that we continue to mobilize international support for the implementation of those Agendas in order to achieve greater synergies between the regional and international development frameworks. Three years into the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063, it is evident that realizing the shared promise of the two Agendas of leaving no one behind is contingent upon our collective capacity to mobilize sufficient means of implementation, including financial resources, technology transfer and capacity-building, which must be as ambitious as the goals themselves. In the same vein, scaling up international support is crucial for building resilience and promoting sustainability. In that context, the Group welcomes the monitoring mechanism report’s in-depth review of the implementation of commitments by African countries and development partners in various development areas (A/73/270). As such, the recommendations of the report should contribute to better informed policy responses to development challenges and enhance the global partnership for development in those critical development areas. The Group re-emphasizes the critical role of official development assistance (ODA) and foreign direct investment (FDI), which remain major sources of financing for development in Africa. The Group is deeply concerned about the fact that both ODA and FDI to Africa have declined over the past years. Therefore, the Group would like to reiterate that the fulfilment of all ODA commitments remains crucial, including the commitment on the part of many developed countries to achieving the target of 0.7 per cent of gross national income (GNI) for ODA for developing countries and 0.15 to 0.20 per cent of GNI for ODA to least developed countries. We urge those that have not fulfilled their commitments to step up efforts towards their ODA targets. The Group recalls that African countries have taken numerous steps to address peace and security challenges at the national and regional levels, including the need to deal with terrorism and instability. The Group of 77 and China is of the view that in order to complement and strengthen African efforts to address challenges to peace and security on the continent, it is critical that partners enhance their support for African peace and security activities and help to build the continent’s own capacities to prevent and resolve conflict through increased assistance. We therefore maintain the need for the United Nations system to support African regional and subregional organizations in assisting the efforts of African countries to achieve the goal of a conflict-free Africa and to end all wars in Africa by 2020. In conclusion, the signing of the Joint United Nations-African Union Framework for an Enhanced Partnership in Peace and Security in April 2017 and of the African Union-United Nations Framework for the Implementation of Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in January demonstrate the commitment of the two organizations to aligning their cooperation to Africa’s needs and priorities. It is imperative to promote an effective and efficient implementation of, follow-up to and review of both Frameworks to maximize the impact and results on the ground.

I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the 10 States members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), namely, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and my own country, Viet Nam. ASEAN aligns itself with the statement delivered by the representative of Egypt on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. At the outset, we thank the Secretary-General for his reports under this agenda item (A/73/269, A/73/270 and A/73/273), which have provided a comprehensive review of the progress made during the reporting period, as well as constructive and practical insights into the way forward. ASEAN reaffirms its solidarity with Africa towards the realization of our shared aspirations in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development for growth, prosperity and sustainable development. We fully support the implementation of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), which will provide a strong foundation for the African Union’s Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want. In that connection, we welcome the good progress made over the past years in achieving the priorities set by NEPAD, in particular in infrastructure, agriculture, education, gender mainstreaming and good governance. We are pleased to note the positive impact of the improving global economic situation on African economies. The establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area in March will certainly spur greater intra-African trade and economic integration. We know the persistent challenges in the areas of agricultural productivity, food security, economic diversification, market access and the lack of financing and capacity. Nonetheless, it is encouraging to see that many African countries have continued to intensify their efforts and seize opportunities to accelerate progress on sustainable development in the region. We welcome efforts to strengthen the Regional Coordination Mechanism for Africa in order to effectively implement Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda. ASEAN is also of the view that it is important to align our ASEAN Community Vision 2025 with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in order to actively explore ways to implement the two Agendas in an integrated way. We believe there is much we can learn from one another in that respect. As many of our leaders affirmed at the general debate last month, our common pursuit of durable peace and sustainable development is contingent upon our ability to build robust global partnerships with a strong and effective United Nations at their core. For its part, ASEAN will continue to work together with all friends and partners, including in Africa, to uphold the values of multilateralism and honour the international frameworks and agreements to which we have committed ourselves. That is part of our shared responsibility to our people and planet. ASEAN as a whole, including its individual member States, looks forward to strengthening its partnership with Africa in implementing those global frameworks and commitments. Indeed, we believe that there is scope for greater collaboration between ASEAN and Africa. In particular, there is great potential for our regional organizations and member States to enhance our linkages and knowledge-sharing in various fields, such as agriculture, education, information and communications technologies, trade and investment and infrastructure development, including through South-South and triangular cooperation. In November 2017, manufacturers and technology firms from across Southeast Asia and Africa gathered in Johannesburg for the first Africa-ASEAN Business Expo and Forum. That inaugural event was aimed at creating a platform for linking businesses from Africa and ASEAN and catalysing trade and investment opportunities between the two regions. In conclusion, we are in full agreement that development partners, international financial institutions, regional and subregional organizations and the international community must continue to support African countries in their pursuit of sustainable peace and development. For its part, ASEAN remains steadfast in its support for the efforts of our African friends and the international community to bring about meaningful progress in the implementation of the NEPAD agenda for the benefit of Africa and of all.

I now give the floor to the observer of the European Union.

I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the European Union and its member States. The European Union welcomes the Secretary- General’s latest progress report on the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (A/73/269). As a strong supporter of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) from its very beginning, the European Union welcomes the report’s alignment with Agenda 2063 of the African Union and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the report’s overall finding that African countries continue to make progress in the implementation of NEPAD priorities. We recognize the importance of infrastructure for the continent’s industrialization and regional integration and the shortfall in the investments needed to lift Africa to global standards. We welcome African initiatives to address that shortfall, such as the 5% Agenda initiative, recently launched by the Continental Business Network of the NEPAD Agency. The European Union has long-standing experience as a partner of the region in cutting-edge regional investment projects that are similar to those envisaged by the NEPAD initiative. An example of those projects is the Caprivi Interconnector linking power grids in southern Africa. With the European External Investment Plan, adopted in September 2017, the European Union is further enhancing the scale of its support by crowding in investments from financial institutions and the private sector through a €1.5 billion guarantee and blending fund, complemented by technical assistance and support aimed at improving the investment climate. In addition to the existing investment facilities of €2.6 billion, that fund is expected to leverage more than €44 billion in investments by 2020. The European Union remains by far the most important destination for African exports. We believe that there is considerable scope to increase the share of intra-African trade and welcome the signing of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement in Kigali in March. We encourage signatories to ensure timely ratification so as to enable the Agreement to enter into force. The European Union and its member States attribute the same importance to high-quality education as is outlined in the 2030 Agenda and the African Union’s Agenda 2063. In that context, we welcome the NEPAD Agency’s support for efforts by countries to achieve gender parity in education. We recommend that those efforts be scaled up and integrated into comprehensive national policies. The monitoring of those policies could become part and parcel of the African Peer Review Mechanism. The European Union and its member States are encouraged by the revitalization of the African Peer Review Mechanism. Peers are often in a better position to address governance issues, and that will also strengthen African ownership of reform agendas. Success will, however, be measured less by the number of participating countries than by the results achieved. In that context, we urge the improved follow-up and implementation of the African Peer Review programme of action. We share the concern expressed by the Secretary-General about the recent rapid increase in the debt levels of many African countries, especially the share of debt held by non-Paris Club countries. Prior to that increase, there had been a massive reduction in African debt levels since the beginning of the century through the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative, to which the European Union’s collective financing contributed 41 per cent of the overall contributions. We echo the warning in the Secretary-General’s report (A/73/269) that excessive borrowing can potentially choke growth and development, undermining hard-won socioeconomic gains through debt relief. In that context, we would like to stress the universality of the Sustainable Development Goals and recall, in particular, Sustainable Development Goal target 17.4. Against that backdrop, it seems evident that the forthcoming second High-level United Nations Conference on South-South Cooperation, which is known as BAPA+40 and is to be held in Buenos Aires in March 2019, presents an opportunity to address the challenge that should not be missed. The European Union continues to firmly stand by its commitment to the 2030 Agenda, of which the Addis Ababa Action Agenda is an integral part. We reiterate the need to facilitate the use of all sources of financing, including international and national private investment, domestic public resources and official development assistance (ODA), and underline the potential of innovative finance. With regard to official development assistance, the European Union has maintained its role as the largest provider, accounting for over half of total ODA and increasing its share from 0.31 per cent of its gross national income in 1999 to 0.50 per cent in 2017. Africa remains a priority for the European Union and its member States. That is reflected in the Commission President Juncker’s announcement, during his 12 September State of the Union 2018 address, of a new Africa-Europe alliance aimed at deepening economic relations and boosting investment and jobs.

Allow me at the outset to align my statement with that delivered by the representative of Egypt on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, and by the representative of Viet Nam on behalf of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). I would also like to thank the Secretary- General for the reports submitted under this agenda item (A/73/269, A/73/270 and A/73/273). Africa is rising, brimming with prospects and potential. We celebrate the fifty-fifth anniversary of the formation of the African Union (AU) this year. Thailand congratulates our African friends on their tireless efforts and solidarity in working towards an integrated, peaceful and prosperous Africa. Much progress has been made during the first 10-year implementation plan of the AU Agenda 2063. In particular, the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area and the signing of the single African air transport market agreement will no doubt promote greater regional integration and business opportunities for African peoples and the world. Although geographical distance may separate Thailand and Africa, Thailand and African nations have always enjoyed long-standing and friendly relations, which are further enriched by growing economic ties and cooperation towards sustainable development, peace and stability and public health. Looking at Africa today, we cannot ignore its growing role in the global economy and the opportunity that it represents. The World Bank currently lists Thailand as ASEAN’s largest trading partner in Africa, and we see Thai investment growing in the continent’s booming sectors, including the energy, fishery, infrastructure, automobile and tourism sectors. At the same time, we are aware of the challenges faced by the least developed countries in global trade, and Thailand has been doing its part to promote market access of African goods in our country through the World Trade Organization’s duty-free and quota-free scheme, which in 2015 we committed to implementing for five years. Development cooperation is another area where Thailand and Africa share a common aspiration. Thailand has always been a strong supporter of South- South and triangular cooperation, which aims not only to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) but also the unfinished business of the Millennium Development Goals. Our development cooperation in Africa follows a demand-driven approach that aims to build strength towards the goal of self- reliance. Through the Thailand-Africa Partnership for Sustainable Development, we are set to share the best practices of our home-grown development approach with Africa in areas including agriculture, human resources development and public health. Development cannot be sustainable without peace. Thailand stresses the importance of creating conditions conducive to sustainable peace and commends the positive trends in Africa. Thailand has taken part in past and present United Nations peacekeeping missions alongside many African nations. We are proud to say that our peacekeepers are early peacebuilders and that they approach their mandated tasks with our late King’s sufficiency economy philosophy in their hearts and minds. This year, our horizontal military engineering company will join the peacekeeping mission in South Sudan. While Africa has made remarkable development progress, one of the most challenging tasks is promoting livelihoods and ensuring healthy populations in the process of achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, while leaving no one behind. Thailand commends the continuing role of the international community in the progress achieved on malaria control and prevention. We need to redouble our efforts to end malaria by 2030, as envisioned by SDG target 3.3. We reiterate our continued support to our African friends through our capacity-building programmes in health- care management as well as in the prevention and management of epidemics. In conclusion, let us look ahead. One critical objective for Thailand during its chairmanship of ASEAN next year will be promoting cooperation and partnership for sustainable development with our partners around the world. In that context, Thailand reiterates its commitment to cooperating with Africa in the pursuit of our common aspirations to prosperity, sustainable development, peace and a healthier world.

At the outset, my delegation has the pleasure of congratulating Ms. María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés on presiding over the General Assembly at its seventy-third session. We look forward to the positive work that will be done during this session. I would like to commend the report of the Secretary-General (A/73/269) on the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). We have looked with great interest at that effective partnership between the United Nations and the African continent, which has culminated in the strengthening of peace, security and stability on the continent. The aim is to address the political, economic and development challenges in Africa so that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development can be effectively implemented. In the context of the Secretary-General’s review of the development efforts made by the Organization in conjunction with the African Union (AU), my country supports all measures undertaken to promote sustainable development in Africa and to strengthen cooperation with the African continent through the AU, in particular the agreement signed between the United Nations and the AU in 2017, as it represents a basic pillar to support development on that continent. My country commends the achievements of African countries in the area of development. We also support all joint efforts between the United Nations and the AU aimed at establishing a common strategy in order to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Agenda 2063 for African development, which was announced at the African summit held in Addis Ababa on 28 and 29 January. That framework seeks to expedite the implementation of Agenda 2063 and to integrate the United Nations and AU Agendas into one to ensure their effective implementation, while contributing to the achievement of a lasting, people-centred environmental structural transformation in Africa. Despite all the gains that have been made, we still remain concerned about the many obstacles that exist. High-ranking officials in Africa, the AU and the United Nations must enhance those gains to the fullest by implementing the following points. First, they must find solutions to the many conflicts and situations of instability in various parts of Africa through cooperation and support to peacekeeping operations in the various African regions concerned, as well as provide support to African peace operations. Secondly, they must provide support to the security and police sectors in certain African States in order to protect defenceless civilians from any violations to which they might be subjected. Thirdly, they must strengthen human rights, social justice and all policies related to conduct and discipline in the area of sexual exploitation and abuse, which is important for the support of AU peace operations. My country takes pride in our historical relationship with African States. We enjoy observer status in the AU. In 2013, my country hosted the third Africa-Arab Summit under the theme “Partners in development and investment”, at which His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah announced an initiative to grant soft loans to non-Arab African countries for five years through the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development. Furthermore, during the Summit the State of Kuwait announced that it would invest $1 billion through the General Investment Authority in cooperation with the World Bank, its affiliates and the China-Africa Development Fund. That amount of money would be invested in the infrastructure of the African continent. Through the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, which was established more than 56 years ago, my country has contributed effectively to the support of sustainable development in many countries of the world, especially countries on the African continent. The Kuwait Fund has cooperated with nearly 42 African countries. We have focused particularly on the road sector and have diversified our development projects to include the granting of soft loans and other non-refundable loans by the Kuwait Fund and the Kuwaiti Government. The Kuwait Fund granted 312 soft loans during the fiscal year 2017-2018. The State of Kuwait has also participated effectively through the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development in the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative, which was launched in 1996 by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. We have also participated in the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative, and the Kuwait Fund has rescheduled its loans to the borrowing countries. The Kuwait Fund has also implemented debt-relief agreements with 27 African States. In conclusion, my country is committed to helping the least developed countries because we fully support the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. We hope that African States will benefit from the report of the Secretary-General on supporting development and stability in Africa.

At the outset, I would like to thank the Secretary-General for his reports on this agenda item (A/73/269, A/73/270 and A/73/273). I also wish to thank Ms. Bience Gawanas, the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Africa, and Mr. Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, Chief Executive Officer of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Planning and Coordinating Agency, for their efforts in supporting the African continent. We also align ourselves with the statements made by the representative of Egypt on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, and by the representative of Morocco on behalf of the Group of African States. I would now like to express the concerns of my country, Libya. This meeting on NEPAD is being held three years after world leaders adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the main objective of which is to leave no one behind, and African leaders launched the African Union’s Agenda 2063, a 50- year plan aimed at establishing peace, security and development in Africa, and its first 10-year human- based implementation plan for achieving development. Today, I will focus on the relationship between development and security — as there can be no security without peace and no peace without security — in the light of the present report of the Secretary-General on the causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa (A/73/273). This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the annual report of the Secretary-General on that subject. According to the report, conflicts in Africa tend to be intra-State rather than inter-State conflicts, and they have regional dimensions. They are typically transnational conflicts in which multiple actors participate. Conflict prevention constitutes the overriding mandate of the United Nations and represents an integral part of the work of regional and subregional organizations, such as the African Union. The question that should be asked today is what has the international community done to help African States establish security and stability. More importantly, what have the African States or the African Union done to help a founding member, such as Libya, to tackle its difficult circumstances? Libya is the northern gate of Africa, and instability in my country means an expansion of conflict. Have the countries of the African Union helped Libya, or have they instead contributed to exacerbating the situation in my country? To set the record straight, allow me to be transparent and clear in addressing certain issues to which my country, Libya, has been subjected since 2011. Those issues reveal what Libya has been going through during a difficult transition phase. First, political instability, conflicts and armed clashes have often led to a weakened State and prevented Libya from safeguarding its borders. That in turn enables gangs trafficking in arms and persons to practise exploitation in countries of origin and destination. Because of its current circumstances, Libya, as a transit country, is subjected to massive waves of illegal migration from sub-Saharan countries. That has exacerbated the humanitarian situation in Libya owing to the inability of my country to control its borders, while neighbouring States have lagged in their efforts to monitor their borders. Countries of origin put the blame on the transit country, which is the victim and not the cause of the problem. The countries of origin and destination should assume their responsibilities towards illegal migrants, who suffer as a result of the actions of trafficking networks in those countries. Those networks are the driving force behind the risky migration in the desert and on the seas. It is necessary to tackle the root causes of the problem, not its symptoms, which requires genuine development in the countries of origin with the help of the destination countries, specifically through the transfer of technology, capacity-building, job creation and the provision of support for small and medium- sized businesses, as well as action to combat criminal gangs in the countries of origin and destination and the transit countries. Once stability is achieved in Libya and reconstruction is initiated, we can assure Members that we will be able to accommodate a large number of our African brothers as workers, in a regular and legal way that protects the rights of both the Libyan State and African workers. Secondly, with regard to sustainable development and maintaining the rights of future generations, which constitutes one of its pillars, I would refer to the assets of the Libyan sovereign wealth fund that have been frozen pursuant to various relevant Security Council resolutions. Those assets are losing value owing to the sanctions regime imposed since 2011, which is supposed to preserve those assets and funds. However, in reality, the sanctions have caused those funds and assets to incur enormous ongoing losses. Since March 2016, we have provided the Security Council and its Committee established pursuant to resolution 1970 (2011) concerning Libya with extensive information about the huge losses incurred. We have requested that the Security Council amend the current sanctions regime so as to improve the management of those frozen assets without lifting the freeze in order to prevent such losses, which are not inevitable, and maintain that part of the Libyan people’s wealth for the sake of future generations. However, the Security Council has not responded to our repeated requests, which we regret. What have the three African countries that are members of the Security Council done in that regard? Did they support our interests and defend those legitimate, fair and urgent requests? Thirdly, what is worse is that many African States have exploited the difficult transitional stage in Libya and started to confiscate and seize Libyan investments in their territories under false pretexts that run counter to signed agreements and international law. In that regard, we confirm that Libya intends to take all appropriate legal measures to restore its assets and its losses. The position of all those countries towards Libya during the current phase will constitute a fundamental factor in our future relations with them. Fourthly, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda have called for the mobilization of the necessary financial resources to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. As part of mobilizing those resources, it is time for all countries to cooperate in order to implement the United Nations Convention against Corruption and to establish mechanisms for returning stolen funds to their legitimate owners. In that regard, Libya looks forward to receiving help from all those countries to which the funds of the Libyan people have been smuggled. Those funds should be disclosed and must be returned to Libya in order to cover part of the funding needed to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In that context, we call on States Members of the United Nations not to let their institutions serve as safe havens for the smuggled funds and to stop the smuggling of money and the encouragement of the corrupt perpetrators. From this rostrum, I ask the General Assembly once again if those illicit flows of funds would have been possible had developed States not allowed their institutions to serve as safe havens for corrupt money. Would the corruption and illegal flows, which have amounted to $100 billion from Africa annually, according to reports of the United Nations and international financial institutions, have continued without the acquiescence of certain developed countries? Will the African Union set an example by addressing money flows and money smuggling within the continent, namely, from African States to African safe havens? Will African States stop serving as safe havens for corrupt money? In conclusion, the difficult transitional stages and the many internal concerns that we are currently experiencing have prevented Libya from playing an effective role in Africa. However, we assure the Assembly that Libya will establish stability and soon stand as a civil State based on the separation of powers, the rule of law and the peaceful rotation of power. We will perform our effective role in true partnership with Africa in order to advance the New Partnership for Africa’s Development and help to ensure progress, growth and prosperity for African countries. That can be done through coordination, joint work and commitment to the cooperation agreements that have been signed with many African countries. We will also work together to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the African Union Agenda 2063 so that Africa will become a developed continent capable of contributing positively to the advancement and prosperity of humankind.

The theme of the current session of the General Assembly is “Making the United Nations relevant to all people: global leadership and shared responsibilities for peaceful, equitable and sustainable societies”. In that spirit, we need to focus on empowering one another, strengthening ties and embracing the global responsibility to achieve worldwide sustainable development. As highlighted in the most recent reports of the Secretary-General on the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (А/73/269, А/73/270 and А/73/273), African countries continue to make progress in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the African Union’s Agenda 2063 in areas ranging from health care and education to agriculture and women’s empowerment. Africa faces many of the same development challenges that Israel has been tackling since its establishment 70 years ago, only a few years before many African countries also gained their independence. Diplomatic relations between Israel and Africa go back to the 1950s when Golda Meir  — Israel’s then Foreign Minister and later Prime Minister  — visited the continent for the first time. The aim of that historic trip was to share Israel’s experience and know- how with many of those newly formed nations. That was when she decided to create Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation (MASHAV), which is responsible for the design, coordination and implementation of the State of Israel’s worldwide development and cooperation programmes. For the past 60 years, MASHAV has worked with our African partners in the fields of health care, agriculture, education, women’s empowerment and innovation. Some 70,000 trainees have benefited from training programmes within Israel and in on-site courses throughout the continent. MASHAV follows a train-the-trainer capacity-building approach. That ensures that African States can continue to rely on their own expertise in future generations, making the development in question truly sustainable. In Ethiopia, for example, MASHAV works with the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture to promote economic growth in rural areas by organizing workshops on horticulture production and marketing for small farmers. That training has led to concrete developments, including increased avocado exports and enhanced irrigation efficiency. In another project, MASHAV partnered with local authorities in Ghana to reduce infant mortality and improve access to high-quality health care by enhancing the professional capacity of hospitals and medical staff. We also work with the Government on another project to improve childhood education. In Kenya, Israel is working in cooperation with UN-Women and Kenyatta University to develop leadership skills among women, empowering them to engage effectively in political processes and to bring about change in business and public life. Israel is currently engaged in several agricultural projects, including a rural development centre in Rwanda to support the country’s national plan to modernize its agricultural sector and alleviate rural poverty. All those projects and other MASHAV projects on the continent not only benefit local populations but also help Africa to achieve the SDGs. In that context, I would also like to note that next month, Israel will host a conference on the effect of climate change on Africa. According to United Nations experts on climate change, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and other climate models, Africa is one of the continents most vulnerable to climate change. The conference will attempt to examine the measures that should be implemented in order to assist the continent in combating the effects of climate change and its ramifications. While time does not permit me to elaborate on all the projects and partnerships between African States and Israel, I want to highlight one Israeli non-governmental organization that is doing tremendous work in Africa to save children’s lives. Save a Child’s Heart, which recently won the 2018 United Nations Population Award, provides free heart surgery to children in need in many African countries. That humanitarian organization not only brings thousands of children to Israel for heart surgery not available in their own countries, but also trains African doctors and medical personnel to perform such operations back home. Our relationship with Africa has never been stronger, and increasing those ties is a top priority for Israel. A testament to that is the fact that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has visited Africa three times in the past two years. I wish to reaffirm Israel’s commitment to continuing its efforts to support the development of Africa. Israel will continue to share its knowledge and expertise so as to inspire and support fellow nations, communities and individuals on their journey to achieve sustainable development. Through the exchange of ideas and strategies, our nations can combat mutual challenges together, using sustainable solutions proved to work. We stand with our African partners to build a brighter future.

We note with satisfaction that African countries are making consistent progress towards socioeconomic transformation. Progress in areas such as industry, agriculture, health care, education, information and communications technology and innovation is of particular importance. The establishment of a single African air transport market and an African free trade area serve as important steps towards economic development and regional integration. Lifting tariff and non-tariff barriers will help to boost intra-African trade, and regular direct flights among countries will create momentum for the development of industry, trade and tourism. It is evident that such efforts will, ultimately, help to eradicate poverty. We believe that African countries need to determine independently, on the basis of their national priorities, their policies for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and the African Union’s Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want. Along those lines, States can leverage their comparative advantages and study the lessons and experience of other global markets. We value the desire of countries to boost mechanisms for domestic resource mobilization and expand public-private partnerships, including by establishing independent tax authorities, introducing a value-added tax, ensuring transparency in revenues and expenditure and improving the overall business climate. At the same time, it is clear that the international community, in particular developed countries, need to continue to deliver assistance to Africa as it seeks to achieve sustainable development. The Russian Federation is a long-standing partner in and donor to international efforts to deliver multifaceted assistance to African countries. Specifically with regard to trade, we provide broad concessional arrangements to a host of countries. With regard to African goods, a concessional duty and tariff regime covers the lion’s share of Russian imports from Africa. Russia is also proactively helping to ease the debt burden of African countries. To date, under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries Initiative, Africa’s principal debt has been written off, amounting to more than $20 billion. Under the Debt for Development programme, intergovernmental agreements are being implemented with Madagascar, Mozambique and Tanzania. More than 11,000 African students attend Russian tertiary education institutions. The Russian Federation provides contributions to international assistance programmes for Africa through the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, the World Food Programme and the International Civil Defence Organization. We have contributed $20 million to implement the World Bank programme to combat malaria in African countries. We have also contributed $18 million to WHO to implement the global polio eradication initiative. The Russian Federation is keen to develop wide-ranging partnerships with African countries. We stand ready to continue to facilitate sustained economic growth and greater employment in order to develop infrastructure and overcome health-care challenges.

At the outset, I would like to thank the President of the General Assembly for convening today’s meeting to discuss the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). We have taken note of the reports of the Secretary- General under this agenda item (A/73/269, A/73/270). One of those two reports refers to the formidable challenges that African countries face in achieving sustainable development and the importance of the international community providing more support through financing, trade and debt relief. All those issues are crucial in supporting African countries in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. The report of the Secretary-General on the causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa (A/73/273) contains many important recommendations and conclusions. It indicates the importance of taking all necessary measures to help African countries avert the outbreak or recurrence of crises and violent conflicts, which have a negative impact on civilian populations and undermine institutions and the capacity for achieving peace and development. It goes without saying that addressing the root causes of conflict is important in order to achieve the goal of ensuring a conflict-free and harmonious Africa, in the context of implementing Agenda 2063 of the African Union, and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which emphasizes the importance of supporting NEPAD and Agenda 2063, seen as an integral part of the sustainable development agenda. The State of Qatar believes that the achievement of security, stability and peace for all nations contributes significantly to efforts to attain sustainable development and to change people’s lives for the better. The State of Qatar plays an important role in the international community to that end. It is committed to providing support to developing countries that seek to improve livelihoods in their communities. The State of Qatar has provided voluntary development assistance to developing countries, in particular the least developed countries; development assistance at the governmental and non-governmental levels exceeded $2 billion in 2017. The African continent received the lion’s share. Under the wise leadership of His Highness the Emir of the State of Qatar and in solidarity with African nations, we continue to step up our efforts to assist development projects in Africa and to support the infrastructure, education and health sectors. The Qatar Development Fund has provided developing countries in Africa with financial resources through relief and development projects, including support for 596,000 students to enrol in primary education. That reflects our firm belief in the fact that access to primary education for children is a driving force in human development. We also support infrastructure projects, such as those related to building roads, power generation and health care. African States have the primary responsibility for their socioeconomic development. However, the support of the international community is needed to assist the efforts of those States. The commitments made by the international community in that respect should be honoured. The State of Qatar reiterates that it will remain committed to working in partnership with the international community in order to advance the sustainable development agenda, in particular NEPAD.

It is an honour for Canada to make this statement at today’s debate on the New Partnership for Africa’s Development. Canada has actively participated, as a partner and a peer, in this week’s Africa Dialogue Series. We very much appreciate the opportunity to listen to our friends and colleagues as we explore a stronger African Union and United Nations partnership for peace, security and development in Africa. Canada understands that we need to listen and learn in order to contribute to better outcomes. That is what we do, both at home and abroad and in this Hall today. Canada commends the leadership of African countries, the African Union and the regional economic communities in efforts to advance regional integration and mainstream the priorities of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the African Union’s Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want. We should all support Africa as it works to create opportunities for its youth and to meet its ambitions. Africa will do that through greater economic integration, which will lead to prosperity. During the General Assembly’s high-level week, Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, was proud to partner with President Akufo-Addo of Ghana, President Kagame of Rwanda and Prime Minister May of the United Kingdom to lead a discussion on investing in decent jobs and opportunities for young people across Africa. Let me take a moment to acknowledge that the World Bank has just confirmed that Seychelles has made the most progress in achieving the development of human capital. It is an inspiration to all Africa that a small nation can make so much progress in only a short period of time. We also know that over the next 20 years, the world’s 10 fastest growing cities will all be in Africa. To support that reality, we need to build essential infrastructure. To help bridge the financial gap in order to make that happen, Prime Minister Trudeau announced the creation of an affiliate of the Global Infrastructure Hub in Toronto to leverage Canada’s expertise in infrastructure so as to help connect capital to projects in Africa and beyond. Such projects fuel long-term economic growth and support the transition to a low- carbon economy, while making progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and improving the representation of women and marginalized groups in sustainable infrastructure. Aid alone is not enough. Economic growth also derives from high-quality education. That is why Canada led the Group of Seven (G-7) in raising $4 billion towards girls’ education. The Prime Minister was very pleased to sit down with the Presidents of the Central African Republic, Sierra Leone and Zambia and the Foreign Minister of The Gambia at this year’s session of the General Assembly to discuss the issue and to find out from them how the money can be disbursed and how we can work with them to achieve that common goal. With respect to climate change, in a statement to the General Assembly to mark the opening of the Paris Agreement for signature in 2016, Prime Minister Trudeau said that developing countries should not be punished for a problem they did not create, nor should they be deprived of the opportunities for clean growth that developed nations are now pursuing. Therefore, as part of our G-7 presidency this year, we felt strongly that we needed to tackle the issue of climate resilience and disaster recovery. We were honoured that the Presidents of Rwanda, Kenya, South Africa and Seychelles participated in that critical conversation. Our oceans and coasts are under considerable threat. Resilient coastal communities and healthy oceans are vital to growing economies that work for everyone, and that is why we are committed to working with others to protect the world’s oceans. In that vein, Canada will partner with Kenya and Japan to host the first global conference on the sustainable blue economy this fall in Nairobi. We hope that all Members will join us. Under the 2030 Agenda, we also collectively agreed to end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria over the next 12 years. For that reason, Canada continues to support the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, an organization that works closely with sub-Saharan countries and disburses 65 per cent of its funding to eliminate those three diseases. (spoke in French) Canada believes in African leadership. In that regard, Canada joined the consensus to elect Louise Mushikiwabo of Rwanda to head the International Organization of la Francophonie. We congratulate her and look forward to working with her. With the Assembly’s support, Canada, with French as one of its official languages, will be a voice for la Francophonie in the Security Council for the period from 2021 to 2022. Canada is proud to continue its long history of contributing to international peace, security and stability, including through our deployments in the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali, the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the United Nations Mission in South Sudan. As gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls are key priorities for Canada, we have launched the Elsie Initiative, a pilot project to increase the meaningful participation of women in United Nations peacekeeping operations. Canada will establish bilateral technical assistance and training partnerships with the Ghana armed forces and the Zambia police force. We will also support the implementation of the gender-mainstreaming strategy in Senegal’s armed forces. Only together can we meet the great challenges of our time and, in particular, seize emerging opportunities. Whether it is creating economic growth for the benefit of all, combating climate change or building a more peaceful world, Canada is committed to working with African Member States to build a better future for us all.

Indonesia aligns itself with the statements delivered by the representative of Egypt on behalf of the Group of 77 and China and the representative of Viet Nam on behalf of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. My delegation wishes to thank the Secretary- General for his reports (A/73/269, A/73/270 and A/73/273) under this agenda item, which highlight the progress achieved in the implementation of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and set forth practical recommendations. My delegation is very pleased to see positive transformations taking place in Africa. African economies continue to gain momentum, following the upturn in the global economy. Overall, growth reached 3.6 per cent in 2017, exceeding the rate in other regions and marking a significant rebound from 2.2 per cent in 2016. The continent is also making strides in the implementation of the NEPAD priorities, particularly agriculture, infrastructure, education, gender mainstreaming and governance. The establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area in March is a welcome development, with the potential to promote intra-African trade and greater economic integration. While NEPAD embodies African countries’ acceptance of responsibility for their own development, sustainable development in Africa cannot be achieved by the African countries alone. We all share the responsibility to ensure that African countries are not left behind. The critical role of official development assistance and foreign direct investment cannot be overstated, and we call for the fulfilment of all the commitments of that kind made by development partners. Efforts must be made to provide debt relief for African countries. We must address Africa’s disproportionately low share of international trade. Infrastructure development is imperative to facilitate trade and promote Africa’s integration into the global economy. Equally critical is the continuous provision of capacity-building and policy advisory support. Indonesia has always been a true partner for African countries. Such a partnership can be traced as far back as the 1955 Asian-African Conference held in Bandung, Indonesia. We take pride in co-initiating with South Africa the New Asia Africa Strategic Partnership to promote cooperation between the two regions. With no less than 1,100 participants over the past decade, African countries continue to be among the top recipients of Indonesia’s South-South cooperation programme, which is based entirely on the principles of non-conditionality and demand-driven considerations. Early this year, Indonesia also hosted the first-ever Indonesia-Africa Forum to promote trade and investment cooperation. Suffice it to say that the Forum was a great success, resulting in business deals worth no less than $586 million. During the Forum, a series of meetings was also held to begin preferential trade agreement discussions with a number of African countries. Building on that momentum, we will convene the Indonesia-Africa Infrastructure Dialogue in August 2019, which will address that issue of high priority to both Indonesia and Africa. Later this month, Indonesia will host the Indonesia-Africa Maritime Dialogue on the margins of the “Our Ocean” Conference to explore cooperation on sustainable fisheries and maritime security, including through the exchange of best practices and capacity-building. There can be no sustainable development without peace. Indonesia is committed to supporting peace and stability in Africa, including through its participation in United Nations peacekeeping. No fewer than 1,388 Indonesian peacekeepers are currently deployed in seven United Nations peacekeeping missions in Africa, and we are now in the process of deploying a 850-person strong rapid deployment brigade to the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Allow me to conclude by commending African leaders for their excellent stewardship and unwavering commitment to the pursuit of durable peace and sustainable development. Indonesia stands ready to be part of the positive transformation of Africa.

We align our statement with the statement delivered by the representative of Egypt on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. We meet at a time when we are well under way on the journey towards the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted three years ago. In addition, our African partners have also commenced the first phase of the implementation of the African Union’s mutually reinforcing, longer-term Agenda 2063. Africa has made rapid strides in recent years in every aspect. Compared with even a decade ago, the continent is more peaceful. Its governance institutions are stronger. Its overall economic output has grown. Poverty rates have fallen. Infrastructure and connectivity are improving, and the economies are more diversified. Life expectancy has increased. Infant and maternal mortality rates have fallen. Africa is a young continent. It is projected to account for nearly one fifth of the world’s population by 2030, with a demographic dividend that can be of great advantage provided that young people have the education and the skills needed for economic opportunities. Long-standing trade and diaspora links across the Indian Ocean, a shared colonial past and our common development challenges have framed India’s relationship with Africa. Going forward, shared prosperity is the theme of our partnership. Our development partnership currently includes the implementation of 180 lines of credit, worth approximately $11 billion, in over 40 African countries. At the previous India-Africa Forum Summit, we committed a concessional line of credit of $10 billion and $600 million in grant assistance. Every year, more than 8,000 African young people are trained in a diverse set of programmes in India. As always, our efforts will be driven by African priorities. Indian companies have invested more than $54 billion in Africa. Our trade with Africa now amounts to more than $62 billion. That is over 21 per cent more than in the previous year. Africa’s exports to India are growing, and our economic ties are now increasingly driven by new partnerships of innovation in the digital economy. The Pan-African e-Network Project links 48 African countries to India and to one another. It can become the new backbone of digital innovation in Africa. Working with several African coastal nations, our partnership now seeks increasingly to harness the benefits of the blue economy in a sustainable manner. India’s medicines have turned the tide on diseases that were once a threat to Africa’s future. They also continue to make health care affordable and accessible to many. The International Solar Alliance, championed by India and France, has been joined by 70 nations, including 25 from Africa. The Alliance is making ambitious strides in contributing tangibly to global efforts to promote renewable energy and climate action. Indian leaders continue to attach a very high priority to our partnership with Africa. Earlier this year, Prime Minister Modi paid an official visit to three countries of the continent. During the past four years, the top leadership of India, including the President, Vice-President and Prime Minister, have visited more than 20 African countries. Indian ministers visited all 54 partner countries during that period. We have also had 32 incoming visits by African Heads of State and Government, in addition to the landmark third India- Africa Forum Summit, held in Delhi three years ago, in which all 54 African nations participated, including 41 African Heads of State and Government. India has also engaged with the Group of 20 and the BRICS group, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, on issues concerning Africa’s development priorities. I would like to conclude by reiterating that India’s partnership with Africa is based on building instruments of empowerment for Africa. India stands together with Africa in its endeavours, while upholding the principle of equality. In a similar spirit, we look forward to the High-level United Nations Conference on South-South Cooperation on the occasion of the fortieth anniversary of the adoption of the Buenos Aires Plan of Action for Promoting and Implementing Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries. Last year, here at the United Nations, India established the India-United Nations Development Partnership Fund, stepping up its efforts to promote South-South cooperation. A sum of $150 million has been committed for the next decade, the focus of which will be development projects in least developed countries and small island developing States. In its first year, the Fund has already initiated projects in nine countries in Africa and will continue to enhance its outreach, which continues to contribute to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063 and stands true to the principle of leaving no one behind.

Myanmar aligns itself with the statements made by the representatives of Viet Nam, on behalf of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and of Egypt, on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. I would like to express our appreciation to the Secretary-General for his comprehensive reports (A/73/269, A/73/270 and A/73/273), which highlight the progress, impact and challenges of African countries in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the African Union’s Agenda 2063, and provide recommendations on the way forward for the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). Myanmar highly values relations with countries in Africa. Myanmar was one of the leading countries that organized in 1955 the first Asia-Africa Conference, also known as the Bandung Conference, to cultivate greater friendship and cooperation between African and Asian countries. Myanmar also welcomed the New Asian-African Strategic Partnership, which seeks to rekindle the spirit of friendship and cooperation between the two continents. Given its long-standing friendship and relations with Africa, Myanmar attaches great importance to NEPAD and remains committed to its implementation aimed at achieving socioeconomic transformation and development in Africa. Myanmar congratulates Africa on making great strides in the economic and social fields over the past years. We welcome the important progress towards the implementation of several key areas of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, particularly in infrastructure, agriculture and gender mainstreaming. Africa’s gross domestic product growth rate rose to 3 per cent in 2017, as compared to 1.7 per cent in 2016, and concrete steps are being taken in the health and education sectors to advance progress in the social sphere. We appreciate the efforts made by our African friends, in their respective national development frameworks, in mainstreaming the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the African Union’s Agenda 2063, which has started to bear fruitful results. Myanmar welcomes the launch this year of the Single African Air Transport Market and the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area. Myanmar hopes that the creation of such intra-African trade will generate dynamic economic gains and a more resilient African economy. Notwithstanding those positive developments, Africa still needs to overcome persistent and emerging challenges. The progress we have witnessed is clearly not enough. In order to accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063 and to achieve our common goal of sustainable development, the African countries and the international community need to intensify their collective efforts. I wish to highlight some points towards that end. Adequate and predictable financing is indispensable for the successful implementation of those Agendas if no one is to be left behind. Financing remains a growing challenge, even though bilateral aid to Africa increased in 2017. Efforts therefore need to be made to increase official development assistance to African countries, in line with the pledges made. We need to foster a closer partnership between Africa and the international community, including the United Nations system. Cooperation in the areas of trade, investment, technology transfer, debt relief and addressing illicit financial flows is crucial to supporting African countries in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. We also need to promote South- South and triangular cooperation for the development of Africa, while complementing relations with its traditional development partners. The United Nations system continues to play a pivotal role in realizing the priorities of the African Union and NEPAD at both the global and the regional levels by providing substantial support to programmes and projects for the inclusive and sustainable development of Africa. My delegation hopes that the repositioning of the United Nations development system will further enhance the capacities of African countries in their pursuit of sustainable development. In conclusion, I wish to reiterate Myanmar’s strong commitment to working closely with our African friends to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Agenda 2063. I also wish to reaffirm our friendship and solidarity with Africa. Together, we will achieve a better future that leaves no one behind.

Italy aligns itself with the statement delivered by the observer of the European Union, and would like to add a few remarks in its national capacity. We welcome the latest report of the Secretary- General (A/73/269) on the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), which outlines the progress made by the African countries in the implementation of the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The report shows that African countries continue to make important advancements in implementing NEPAD’s priorities, particularly in infrastructure, agriculture, education, gender mainstreaming and public governance. Among those positive developments, which we sincerely commend, the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area stands out as a particularly significant achievement that could create momentum towards continental integration and help to achieve the African Union’s vision of an integrated, peaceful and prosperous Africa. At the same time, the Secretary-General’s report analyses the challenges that must still be addressed, including the need to build sustainable partnerships with international actors. Italy stands ready to work in that direction together with its African partners. Because of its history, geography and cultural traditions, Italy has always had a strong and profound relationship with Africa. Over the years, we have invested significant resources in the future of the continent, with an integrated approach encompassing humanitarian assistance, development cooperation and private investments. Our action has always been and remains inspired by the following principles: African ownership in defining development priorities, transparency and shared responsibility. Our engagement has been consistent over the years and is being scaled up. In 2018, the resources allocated for Africa by the Italian Development Cooperation amount to €182 million — an increase of 11.6 per cent, as compared to last year. More generally, Italy is assisting with training and capacity-building programmes in many parts of Africa, from Libya to the Sahel and the Horn of Africa, in various areas identified in agreement with the local authorities and with full respect for the principle of African ownership. Italy’s engagement is particularly strong in the Horn of Africa. Last week, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte visited Ethiopia and Eritrea in order to express concrete support for the normalization process being carried forward by the leaders in Addis Ababa and Asmara, which we are confident will also result in better development prospects for the two countries and the rest of the region. The Sahel has also become a priority for us. Italy strongly supports the revitalization of the United Nations integrated strategy for the Sahel and is particularly pleased to see that the United Nations Support Plan for the Sahel is moving forward. From a bilateral point of view, we have expanded our presence in the region through the opening of new embassies in Niamey, Conakry and, soon, Ouagadougou. Italy has also traditionally put African development at the forefront of its action in major multilateral forums. During our presidency of the Group of Seven in 2017, we focused on increasing collective support for food security and nutrition in sub-Saharan Africa and dedicated the outreach session of the Group of Seven summit specifically to the African continent. In the framework of the Group of 20, we have been actively participating in the Compact with Africa, an initiative launched by the 2017 German presidency, which is aimed at promoting private investment in 11 African countries. We believe in the need for a stronger involvement of the private sector in order for African development to be sustainable in the long term. Already one of the largest investors in Africa, Italy has increasingly been engaging its private sector in the creation of multi-stakeholder partnerships in Africa, especially with a view to promoting greater and better access to sustainable energy. I take the opportunity to highlight the fact that the second Italy-Africa Ministerial Conference  — which represents a structured framework of the partnership established between Italy and Africa  — will take place in Rome on 24 and 25 October. That high-level meeting, the second of which is now being held, will enable us to strengthen our dialogue and cooperation with Africa in many areas. It will focus on Africa’s economic growth, our concerted efforts to foster peace on the continent, and the promotion of human-capital development. There will also be the opportunity to discuss how the Italian business model  — based on small and medium-sized enterprises  — can help in developing African entrepreneurship. I would like to conclude by reaffirming Italy’s commitment to move forward its partnership with the African countries in pursuing the objectives set out in Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda and in making further and steady progress in the implementation of the NEPAD priorities. Our long-term engagement alongside the African continent is and will remain a priority.

At the outset, allow me to thank the Secretary-General for his comprehensive reports under this agenda item (A/73/269, A/73/270 and A/73/273). I would like to associate my delegation with the statements delivered by the representatives of Morocco and Egypt on behalf of the Group of African States and the Group of 77 and China, respectively. Since the beginning of this century, Africa has continued to see encouraging economic growth resulting in the reduction of poverty. However, the continent still faces multiple development challenges owing, inter alia, to the lack of structural economic transformation and regional integration. As a result, in 2015, African leaders endorsed Agenda 2063 with an unwavering political commitment to building an integrated, prosperous and peaceful continent that plays its rightful role at the global level. The African Union’s Agenda 2063 demonstrates the will and readiness of Africans to shape the destiny of the continent by forging partnerships with domestic and external partners. In that regard, by mainstreaming Agenda 2063, particularly its first 10-year plan, into their development priorities, African countries have been implementing national, regional and continental development initiatives. The establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area is an important achievement that seeks, inter alia, to promote regional integration by increasing the value of intra-African trade. African countries, including Ethiopia, have also continued to mobilize domestic resources so as to finance their development programmes. Similarly, the implementation plans of the national, regional and continental strategies include actions to adapt to and mitigate the negative impacts of climate change. While implementing Agenda 2063 is primarily the responsibility of African countries, we believe that, in an interconnected world where we have committed to revitalizing global partnerships through internationally agreed development frameworks, supporting Africa is the right thing to do in order to demonstrate global solidarity and cooperation in a practical way. In that connection, as outlined in the Secretary-General’s report on NEPAD (A/73/269), we appreciate all our bilateral and multilateral development partners for their continued support for the implementation of Agenda 2063. In that regard, we commend the cooperation between the African Union and the United Nations, which is aimed at coordinating the follow-up and reporting mechanisms of Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda. We also believe that the United Nations- African Union cooperation and coordination should be further consolidated so as to achieve both development frameworks in accordance with national and regional initiatives. We underscore that Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda have been fashioned in a coherent manner so as to support Africa’s sustainable development. Africa’s efforts should therefore be supported by coordinated global actions so that the continent is not left behind. Africa remains the litmus test for the success of the international community in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals and targets. Ethiopia remains committed to contributing to the realization of the vision of Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda in line with its development priorities. Peace is an essential prerequisite for Africa’s development. Much has been achieved by the continent as it works to strengthen the capacities for structural conflict prevention in Africa. The operationalization of the African Peace and Security Architecture represents notable progress towards further strengthening African- led efforts to prevent conflicts and to address their root causes. Africa is indeed driving its own agenda and rising to meet its peace challenges. Significant advancements has been made with regard to regional cooperation and integration. The implementation of the African Union’s master road map of practical steps for silencing the guns in Africa by 2020 is also under way. The role of the United Nations system, which is focused mainly on supporting peace and security and good governance and on initiatives and actions aimed at contributing to addressing the root causes of conflict on the continent, is also commendable. But one crucial matter is the collaboration at various levels between the United Nations and the African Union on the basis of comparative advantages in working towards a greater unity of purpose. Member States have the primary responsibility for conflict prevention, and that prevention depends ultimately on their capacity to build resilience to violent conflicts, strengthen local capacities to build and sustain peace, and promote sustainable development. To that end, Ethiopia has opened a new chapter in its political and social history, offering realistic and genuine possibilities for change that will meet the hopes and expectations of our citizens and ensure that those changes are in line with the new political and democratic realities in the country, with the ultimate goal of creating a just, peaceful, equitable and sustainable society. Another highly important and historic development is taking place in our subregion. A real process of normalization of relations between and among the countries of the Horn of Africa has been launched. In the light of those important and positive developments, it is appropriate and timely for the United Nations to seriously consider how to support and maintain those efforts. Let me conclude by underlining that Ethiopia is, and will always remain, firmly committed to making every possible effort towards creating peaceful, equitable and sustainable societies in our subregion and on the African continent.

The joint debate on the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) in the General Assembly is, as we all know, very important to the continent, and my country cherishes this opportunity to share its views with the entire membership. The NEPAD Agency remains the technical arm of the African Union (AU), in coordination with the other structures of the Union and with regional economic communities. I would like to start by saying that, in addition to aligning ourselves with the statements delivered by the representatives of Egypt and Morocco, speaking on behalf of the Group of 77 and China and the Group of African States, respectively, I would like to add the following remarks. We note with deep appreciation most of the findings and recommendations contained in the three reports of the Secretary-General, namely, the latest report on NEPAD (A/73/269), the report on the causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa (A/73/273), and the biennial report on the review of the implementation of the commitments made towards Africa’s development (A/73/270). I first wish to thank the Office of the Special Adviser on Africa for the dedication and valuable work of Ms. Bience Gawanas and her team in enhancing international support for Africa’s development. I also wish to commend the work of the Economic Commission for Africa in that regard and call for enhanced cooperation with the African Union on those and other issues. Regarding the report entitled “New Partnership for Africa’s Development: sixteenth consolidated progress report on implementation and international support”, we consider its findings encouraging, as it shows the continued progress being made by African countries in the implementation of NEPAD’s priorities, particularly in the areas of infrastructure, agriculture, education, gender mainstreaming and governance. With regard to the actions being taken by African countries and organizations, we agree that infrastructure is an enabler for the continent’s industrialization and regional integration. It is a positive development that the NEPAD Agency is hosting the project on the implementation of the African Integrated High-Speed Railway Network, which aims to interconnect all African capitals. There are currently ideas to connect South Africa with Algeria by rail — a project on which we have already made a start. It is now almost possible to drive from Algiers to Lagos as a result of the Trans-Sahara Highway project, which aims to connect more than 400 million people spread across 6 million square kilometres. Health issues are also crucial, and we welcome the fact that 12 of the 55 member States of the African Union have reviewed, or are in the process of reviewing, their domestic laws on the regulation of medicines, in line with the African Union’s model law. We hope that more countries will undertake that alignment process in the coming years. We strongly appreciate the fact that the NEPAD Agency continues to support the efforts of African countries to achieve gender parity in education and the implementation of gender equality and women’s empowerment at the national, regional and subregional levels. Algeria is among the leaders of its region on that issue. As for the response of the international community, I note with some concern that data on official development assistance to Africa in 2017 was not available at the time of reporting. Let me insist on the importance of having that data in the next NEPAD reports. The available data on Africa in the report shows a 1.3 per cent decrease in official development assistance in 2016. We hope that the most recent data will be more positive. We agree that, in the light of the persistent imbalances in African labour markets and the high youth unemployment, African countries must take measures to equip students with the requisite skills and training needed for today’s labour markets. Youth employment is an important component of preventing conflicts. That brings me to the report on the causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa. That report indicates that the past two decades have witnessed remarkable progress and the emergence of a new African narrative in all areas. Africa is driving its own agenda in rising to meet the challenges it faces with regard to peace and development, and we believe that that achievement is certainly the result of the African Union’s outstanding efforts. The United Nations and development partners have also contributed to that success. We note with appreciation that the Peacebuilding Fund has provided seed funding for some components of the United Nations Support Plan for the Sahel (2018- 2022). We would be very interested in having in the next report information on what the United Nations and development partners are doing to support the implementation of the Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation in Mali emanating from the Algiers process. We invite the Secretary-General to shed light on that aspect in his next report. We concur that conflict prevention is ultimately about the capability of Member States to build resilience to violent conflicts. The United Nations, the AU and the regional economic communities, along with their respective mechanisms, play a tremendous role in the efforts to develop comprehensive and coherent conflict-prevention strategies and tools of countries in that regard. It is imperative for the AU, NEPAD, the African Peer Review Mechanism, the African Development Bank and the regional economic communities to enhance their work on conflict prevention. The newly established United Nations-AU annual conference, the desk-to-desk consultations, the Regional Coordination Mechanism for Africa and the United Nations interdepartmental task force on African affairs provide useful platforms for improving consultations, information exchange and joint planning in our efforts to foster coordinated support for Africa’s peace and development priorities. Regarding the third report, which deals with impacts and challenges in four thematic areas that are critical to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Agenda 2063 of the African Union, namely, industrialization and regional integration, health, water and sanitation, climate change and financing for sustainable development, I would first like to commend Africa’s traditional, new and emerging development partners. We agree with almost all the conclusions and recommendations in the report. However, regarding the health, water and sanitation recommendations to development partners, we wonder why the scaling-up of long-term, predictable and sustainable health financing is limited only to South-South cooperation. We believe that that should be broadened to all forms of international cooperation. On financing for development, we echo the need for development partners to increase official development assistance to Africa, in line with the scale of the challenges facing the continent. Thanks to its immense potential in both human and natural resources, Africa is the future of the world. Africa is a thriving continent that is on the right track, despite real and evident setbacks and uncertainties. Africa now needs to jump-start its development, and it has started to do that thanks to many national, regional and continental endeavours. Africa needs to be respected and viewed as a partner, not as a source of problems or a threat to others. History shows that the whole world still has an obligation towards the continent to work to repair its problems. Cooperation, mutual respect, genuine partnership and solidarity are needed more than ever.

There are many reasons to be optimistic about the future of Africa. Good progress has been made in achieving the goals set out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Agenda 2063 of the African Union (AU). The African Continental Free Trade Area holds promise for stimulating continued and inclusive growth. Serious challenges remain, however, and here I wish to underscore the importance of job creation, particularly for women and young people. We must step up our support for those in the greatest need, and in order to achieve our common goals we need to intensify our cooperation with our partners in Africa. Regional and subregional organizations play a crucial role in helping us to find sustainable solutions for our shared future. On 1 October, Norway opened its Permanent Mission to the African Union in Addis Ababa. Norway is honoured to support the AU-led training for incoming African members of the Security Council and the AU office in New York. We see ourselves as a consistent and reliable partner. For more than 10 years, Norway has allocated 1 per cent of its gross national income to official development assistance. Development assistance continues to be an important component of our cooperation with countries in Africa. However, trade, private investments and business cooperation have now become increasingly prominent parts of our partnerships, which is a very promising and inspiring trend. We share with Africa the challenges posed by illicit financial flows, and we commend the good work done in that regard in Africa. We particularly commend Nigeria for the leading role it has taken in the fight against illicit financial flows, and we are proud to be partners in that important work. We share the priority of ensuring gender equality. Women’s participation in all sectors of society benefits our economies and societies. Allow me to especially congratulate Ethiopia on the gender parity in its new Government. That country is leading the way. In his twentieth annual report on the causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa (A/73/273), the Secretary-General advocates the strengthening of capacities for structural conflict prevention. We align ourselves with that important message, and we welcome the notable progress on the operationalization of the African Peace and Security Architecture. Norway stands ready to contribute to the prevention of conflicts and to addressing their root causes. Through our partnerships, Norway will continue to contribute to good solutions for our common future.

Panama welcomes this debate, which constitutes a significant effort to stimulate effective dialogue on global cooperation for the development of the African continent — a topic that demands the commitment of us all. My delegation aligns itself with the statement made by the representative of Egypt on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. I would like particularly to emphasize the value of the reports of the Secretary-General (A/73/269. A/73/270 and A/73/273), which put into perspective the progress made by African countries in fulfilling their priorities within the framework of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) — a strategy that seeks to tackle the great challenges of the region and enable the full-fledged sustainable development of its population. We have set ourselves the challenge of leaving no one behind. Achieving that requires innovative and mutually responsible leadership in order to ensure that such well-being is enjoyed by all, fairly and without discrimination, aimed at attaining more peaceful and inclusive societies. Panama recognizes the significance of the existing link between the African Union’s Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want and the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. We congratulate the efforts of African countries to include the priorities of both Agendas in their national development frameworks in a coordinated way. We also commend the progress made in terms of integration through the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area, the accomplishment of which also marks the ideal way to attain an integrated, peaceful and prosperous region. The challenges that Africa continues to face are not insignificant, namely, the need to overcome armed conflicts, consolidate peace processes and address issues of human rights, health and education, among others. However, we are confident of Africa’s potential to drive its own development so as to ensure a safe, prosperous and peaceful continent with strong institutions. We also trust that the Africa Dialogue Series, held in recent days, yielded valuable results in strengthening the strategic alliance that must be maintained between the United Nations and the African Union. There is no doubt that the role played by regional institutions provides a platform of unique importance in ensuring the success of the development agenda. Throughout the current decade, Africa has striven to maximize the results of its regional agenda, which is laudable. We welcome the third Industrial Development Decade for Africa, as well as its efforts to achieve the rollback of malaria and to increase agricultural productivity and food security. In addition, in 2010, Africa marked the beginning of the African Women’s Decade, and we have seen an increase in the participation of women in leadership roles — such as Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed and Ms. Graça Machel, to name only two. We therefore commend all efforts to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. My country firmly believes that the participation of women is a fundamental element in attaining the full development and progress of any country. There is no doubt that the international community should support, and must continue to support, African countries in the socioeconomic transformation of their continent. To that end, cooperation among States and through multisectoral partnerships that address strategic areas prioritized by Africans is vital and mandatory. My country firmly believes in the strong ties between development and security, stressing that there can be no development without peace, nor peace without development. The responsibility of this Organization, and the Security Council in particular, should be to serve as the fulcrum in the prevention of conflicts. For that reason, we commend the efforts of African countries to promote and foster constructive dialogue mechanisms with all segments of society. We urge those countries to continue their work in the area of ​conflict prevention and to implement initiatives aimed at preventing conflicts at all stages by tackling their root causes in a timely manner. Mindful of the fact that the construction of a peaceful and safe world is a shared global responsibility, Panama has been expanding and strengthening its relations with other regions of the world, and, as part of our foreign policy priorities, we have launched the so-called Falcon Policy, through which we seek to further strengthen our political ties of friendship, fraternity and cooperation with Asia, Africa and the Middle East. In that regard and as a middle-income country offering cooperation, we make ourselves available to African countries to serve as a resource for the exchange of knowledge and good practices, abiding by the criterion of solidarity and with a view to contributing to the achievement of our shared development goals. I would like to conclude by remembering two sons of Africa and citizens of the world, namely, Nelson Mandela and Kofi Annan, who both dreamt of an African continent in peace and with full-fledged development. I reiterate Panama’s support and solidarity in contributing to the full and effective implementation of the commitments made for the development of Africa and its people.

At the outset, I would like to thank the Secretary-General for his important reports before us (A/73/269, A/73/270 and A/73/273), as well as the substantial recommendations therein. My delegation associates itself with the statements made by the representative of the Kingdom of Morocco on behalf of the Group of African States and by the representative of the Arab Republic of Egypt on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. I would like to add the following points in my national capacity. We note that the report of the Secretary-General (A/73/269) on the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) includes the positive developments that have taken place during the reporting period. Among the most important of those developments are the inauguration in March of the African Continental Free Trade Area and the continent’s economic growth rate of 3.6 per cent in 2017, as well as the enhanced cooperation among African States to implement NEPAD, particularly in the fields of infrastructure, agriculture, gender mainstreaming, the environment and climate change, information and communications technology, education and training, among other important fields. In that regard, we recall the many developments related to achieving the purposes and objectives of NEPAD, most importantly the recent positive developments in the Horn of Africa and the normalization of relations among the countries of the region, as well as the revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan. The Agreement was signed in Addis Ababa on 12 September by the parties to the conflict in the Republic of South Sudan, thanks to the efforts of the Sudan in the context of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development initiative for peace in South Sudan. The relevant stakeholders have begun the necessary preparations to implement the Agreement. With regard to the Central African Republic, efforts are currently under way to hold a new round of negotiations among the relevant parties in Khartoum in November, following the negotiations that took place in August, all within the framework of the African Union (AU) initiative for peace and reconciliation in the Central African Republic. All those efforts are being made in the broader context of the AU initiative to silence the guns across Africa by 2020. That would enable African countries to dedicate their financial and human resources to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Agenda 2063 of the African Union, to which we aspire. We note the important information contained in the Secretary-General’s report on NEPAD to the effect that the African continent is in need of $130 billion to $170 billion annually for investment in infrastructure projects. However, the current projects represent just 5 per cent of Africa’s overall investment needs, which should prompt us to step up international and regional efforts to address that large gap in order to ensure that no one is left behind in terms of development. We also note that, despite the significant economic growth rate realized in Africa, which in the report of the Secretary-General is estimated to be approximately 3.6 per cent in 2017, Africa continues to face multiple challenges, including poverty, youth unemployment, income disparity among African communities, climate change, debt burden and population growth. That array of challenges is hampering the development of the continent. We would like to recall the importance of supporting the efforts of the AU and regional economic communities to achieve economic integration on the continent, strengthen commercial trade and investment among African States, and strengthen the role of the AU in achieving peace and security in Africa, in the context of attaining African solutions to the continent’s problems. In that regard, we commend the AU initiative to establish a fund for supporting peace and security, which aims to provide 25 per cent of the budgets for African peacekeeping operations. We stress the importance of enhancing African ownership and leadership of the efforts to address the challenges facing the continent. It is also important to strengthen coordination between the AU and other partners, States and organizations, as well as to promote partnership between the AU and the private sector, civil society, academics, the media and Africans in diaspora, who, as a group, constitute the fifth region of the African continent. We also support the reforms undertaken by the AU, as well as the partnership between the AU and the United Nations in the areas of peace, security and development. We call for the implementation of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development and for investing in conflict resolution in Africa. It is important to strengthen coordination between the United Nations and its agencies that work on the continent, while seeking to promote capacity- building, technology transfer and the exchange of experiences and best development practices. To conclude, my delegation underlines that the international community has significant vital interests in Africa, and that supporting the continent’s efforts to achieve sustainable development and fulfil the 2030 Agenda would reap benefits for all. We stress partnerships for the future, which would benefit everyone in the areas of investments, trade exchange, achieving peace and security, fighting terrorism, combating drugs, terrorism and illicit migration, transnational crime, sustainable environment and other crucial areas. We all can accomplish those noble goals if we work, cooperate and coordinate together according to a clear vision.

There is no denying that Japan finds itself geographically far from the African continent. However, in today’s globalized world, irrespective of our location, we share common challenges, common successes and a common future. Therefore, Africa’s peace and prosperity are our peace and prosperity, and our peace and prosperity are those of Africa. In that spirit, in 1993, the Government of Japan launched the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD). TICAD is a process realized through the active participation of African countries, as well as a strong partnership with the United Nations, represented by the United Nations Office of the Special Adviser on Africa and the United Nations Development Programme, the African Union Commission and the World Bank. I would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere appreciation for that strong partnership, without which TICAD could not succeed. Inclusiveness, a focus on Africa’s ownership and strong follow-up mechanisms to ensure the concrete implementation of commitments are the three notable features of TICAD. The TICAD process is also aligned with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the African Union’s Agenda 2063 through its focus on the peace, development and humanitarian nexus, as well as its people-centred and human security approach. We believe that TICAD makes significant contributions to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063. At the latest TICAD ministerial meeting held in Tokyo earlier this month, it was agreed that international support should comply with international standards, taking into account the sustainability of the debt of the recipient countries. That echoes a point contained in the Secretary-General’s report entitled “New Partnership for Africa’s Development: sixteenth consolidated progress report on implementation and international support” (A/73/269). In addition, the participants agreed on the need for private investment in order to diversify Africa’s economies, in particular its industries, and to develop high-quality infrastructure. They also agreed on the importance of realizing universal health coverage. Based on the outcomes of the TICAD ministerial meeting, Japan intends to accelerate its preparations to host the next TICAD summit, known as TICAD VII, which will take place in August next year. I urge delegations to mark their calendars. This week, we appreciated the launch of the Africa Dialogue Series 2018 as an opportunity to deepen discussions on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063 and on operationalizing the frameworks for partnerships between the United Nations and the African Union. It has also provided us with invaluable inspiration for TICAD VII. We look forward to further consolidating our partnerships with African countries, international and subregional organizations and all other stakeholders, including civil society and the private sector, in order realize the Africa we want, which is a necessary component of the world we all want.

My delegation thanks the Secretary-General for the excellent reports he has submitted under this agenda item (А/73/269, А/73/270 and А/73/273), and commends the Special Adviser on Africa and her team for the successful launch of the Africa Dialogue Series and for facilitating the rich exchange of views on the critical issues of concern to Africa over the past two days. Ghana aligns itself with the statements delivered by the representatives of Morocco and Egypt on behalf of the Group of African States and the Group of 77 and China, respectively. Africa’s development priorities have been clearly expressed in several continental and global landmark agreements, the most significant being Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want, a strategic vision for transformative development in Africa, and the 10- year implementation plan (2014-2023), which hold the promise of contributing to the enhancement of inclusive economic and social progress. The emphasis of Agenda 2063 on agriculture development, infrastructure development and industrialization will greatly facilitate job creation and poverty eradication on the continent. Equally transformative is the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which derives many of its goals and targets from the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and which, together with the Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development, provides a comprehensive framework for action in the spirit of global partnership and solidarity. My delegation is particularly pleased that, in the past year, the African Union has concluded several major continental agreements, including the Africa Continental Free Trade Area, the Single African Air Transport Market and the continent-wide protocol on the free movement of people, all of which are important pillars of Agenda 2063 and a sign of the collective resolve and determination of Africans to create the conditions necessary for the realization of the continental vision of socioeconomic transformation. Africa has demonstrated leadership in the development of the continent and is charting the continent’s path to prosperity. The sense of enterprise, creativity, innovation and hard work needed to engineer such a transition are already at work, and what is required is coherence and complementarity among global, continental, regional, national and local efforts for effective implementation. In that regard, my delegation welcomes the renewed efforts of the Planning and Coordinating Agency of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) to strengthen national and regional capacities to coordinate the implementation of the Agendas. We also wish to underscore the important work of the African Peer Review Mechanism in fostering good governance as an enabler of growth and sustainable development. The African Union-United Nations Framework for the Implementation of Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted in January, is a significant development. Similarly, the Joint United Nations-African Union Framework for an Enhanced Partnership in Peace and Security will promote sustaining peace as an important prerequisite for sustainable development. We urge continued collaboration on the implementation of strategies and programmes that promote the comprehensive development of Africa. As rightly indicated in the Secretary-General’s report on NEPAD, global economic conditions have a considerable bearing on the performance of African economies and, consequently, on the pace of progress in the implementation of the Agendas. Building resilience will be necessary in order to sustain our efforts. Financing is a critical element for the achievement of development. As African countries redouble their efforts to mobilize domestic resources, we call on partners to fulfil their official development assistance commitments to complement those efforts. We also call for urgent international action to help curb illicit financial flows from Africa. We take note that, as foreign direct investment (FDI) flows to Africa have continued their downward trend, Africa’s new and emerging development partners have made significant commitments in terms of FDI and other support, ranging from trade in natural resources to agriculture and construction. We welcome those partnerships, together with the launch of the Group of 20 Africa Partnership in July 2017, and hope that cooperation with the continent will be strengthened, with Agenda 2063 as its guiding framework. While commending our partners for those tangible contributions, we reaffirm the importance of the role of the private sector, as well as that of public- private partnerships, in meeting the challenges of sustainable development. Both the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the African Union’s Agenda 2063 recognize the importance of peace and stability, not only as critical enablers but also as important components of sustainable development. In line with that aspiration, Africa has also continued, with the support of the United Nations and development partners, to deal with current conflicts and to address emerging challenges to peace, security and development, such as the rise of terrorism and violent extremism, as well as the growing number of migrants, refugees and internally displaced persons. We reaffirm that sustaining peace is a particularly poignant goal in Africa, and the mutually reinforcing and interlinked pillars of peace, security, development and human rights must be reinforced in order to find lasting solutions to conflicts on the African continent. Tackling the root causes of conflict, such as youth unemployment, inequality and economic and social exclusion, including through the African Peace and Security Architecture and the African Governance Architecture, will be critical to Africa’s transformation. The role of women in sustainable development cannot be overestimated. Equally important is their indispensable role in peacebuilding and sustaining peace. For that reason, Ghana welcomes the collaboration between the United Nations and the African Union aimed at enhancing women’s political leadership and participation in conflict prevention, resolution and peacebuilding through the support given to the African Women Leaders Network. Deliberate and targeted policies must be adopted by Governments with the goal of seeking ways to promote the inclusive participation of young people in development. The continent is a youthful one. That makes it imperative to include young people in Africa’s efforts in a meaningful way, if we mean to achieve the goals and targets of Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda.

I would like to begin by associating myself with the statements delivered by the representatives of Egypt, on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, and of Morocco, on behalf of the Group of African States. I would also like to congratulate the Secretary- General on the three reports (A/73/269, A/73/270 and A/73/273) submitted under this agenda item. In those reports, the Secretary-General presents all the activities carried out by African countries, their development partners and the United Nations system. He also focuses on conflicts and the need for peace. We commend all those contributions, and we thank Africa’s bilateral and multilateral partners for their much-appreciated efforts. Nevertheless, the fact remains that, owing to problems with coordination, project finalization, resource mobilization and withdrawal, those efforts have not always produced the expected results. We must therefore redouble our efforts in a number of key areas in the future. That is why we endorse the Secretary-General’s recommendations, which highlight a fitting vision for sustainable progress in Africa, with a focus on the following areas: sustainable and inclusive economic growth based on industry, trade and regional integration; the development of infrastructure; investment in human capital through measures in the fields of health care, science, technology and innovation, social development, employment, job creation, social protection, migration and mobility; action to promote women, gender equality and youth empowerment; humanitarian issues and disaster risk management; the environment, urbanization and population; and, lastly, advocacy, information, communication and culture. Having embraced those strategic guidelines and despite an unfavourable economic situation, the Government of my country, through its strategic document for growth and employment, continues to create favourable conditions so that it can achieve the desired goals in each of those areas. We have therefore focused on entrepreneurship and the transformation of the informal sector, which provide niches for the empowerment of women and young people, with a view to fully integrating those groups into society. A bank for small and medium-sized enterprises has been established. Further measures involve the efficient use of domestic resources through bonds, an approach that generates domestic savings to finance growth-generating projects. An investment-friendly code and framework conducive to a transparent, stable and predictable business climate are in place in order to attract foreign direct investment, which is seen as one of the cornerstones of strong, sustainable and inclusive economic growth. Cameroon’s health system has been considerably strengthened, and the transition to universal health coverage is well under way. In recent years and in accordance with the Malabo Declaration on Nutrition Security for Inclusive Economic Growth and Sustainable Development in Africa, the Government of Cameroon has committed to achieving the goal of food security and nutrition. However, my delegation regrets to note that that objective is seriously threatened by desertification, drought, the terrorism of the Boko Haram sect and instability in the subregion, which requires an economically and socially burdensome management of refugees. With regard to the multilateral and comprehensive approach to addressing common challenges, I would like to point out that Cameroon is actively participating in the promotion and strengthening of trade and regional integration through numerous bodies, such as the Central African Economic and Monetary Community, the Economic Community of Central African States, the Niger Basin Authority and the Lake Chad Basin Commission. It has joined the agreement establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area, which seeks to increase commercial trade in Africa. It participates in the implementation of numerous local and regional infrastructures that seek to strengthen regional and continental integration, such as a project — now well under way — to build a railway linking the capital of Chad to the Cameroonian ports of Douala and Kribi. Those projects, currently at an advanced stage, are expected to increase trade among the countries of the subregion. Much of the road infrastructure linking the Cameroonian capital to the capitals or large cities of neighbouring countries, which is either operational or in the process of becoming so, will considerably boost subregional integration. Cameroon is concerned about the increasing burden of African debt and the downward trend in official development assistance. In that context, we can barely implement the Sustainable Development Goals in Africa. My country therefore calls on the international community to strengthen the capacities of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and to respect fair and equitable rules so that African countries can access international trade and the technologies needed for sustainable development. We cannot emphasize enough that conflict prevention, management and resolution, as well as post- conflict peacebuilding, are crucial for the achievement of NEPAD’s objectives with regard to development. Let us therefore address the root causes of conflict in Africa in order to enable the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission to fully support African countries emerging from conflict. There is a saying in Africa that where peace is absent, destitution takes root, and where there is destitution, endless quarrels arise. There is therefore a cycle linking peace and development. In other words, while we certainly cannot eat peace, we also cannot eat when there is no peace. As such, substantial resources should be made available to the Secretary-General for those purposes. It has been 16 years since Africa presented the New Partnership for Africa’s Development to the world. The international community embraced that new partnership with enthusiasm. It is on that basis that our continent built the new initiative for the development of our continent by 2063 — which was endorsed by the Assembly  — along with its programmes for the first 10 years. It is therefore clear that Africa knows what it wants, that it knows where it is going and that we know what must be done. We therefore call on all parties to respect their commitments. The United Nations, for its part, must strengthen the coordination of its agencies responsible for implementing the Organization’s contributions to that programme. In particular, they must strengthen the capacities of the Office of the Special Adviser on Africa, as well as those of the Economic Commission for Africa and its subregional structures, which play an important role in coordinating, planning — including strategic planning  — and programming, as well as in mobilizing resources and international opinion in support of Africa.

My delegation aligns itself with the statement made by the representative of Egypt on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. We would also like to make some additional remarks in our national capacity. We thank the Secretary-General for his reports portraying the development scenario in Africa (A/73/269, A/73/270 and A/73/273). While they generate optimism regarding the overall rebound of the African economy in 2017, one cannot miss their words of caution regarding Africa’s persistent development challenges, for example, debt servicing, structural impediments, factors causing environmental stress such as desertification, job creation and the investment deficit, among others. The international community, and the United Nations in particular, must pay due attention to those areas. As Chair of the Group of Least Developed Countries for the past three years, we have been particularly conscious of the interests of the African least developed countries. We have tried to highlight the specific challenges that they face, such as in the sectors of structural transformation, information and communications technology infrastructure, social and health issues, resilience-building and crisis management and mitigation, inter alia. We have also pressed for tailored support for the conflict-ridden countries in Africa. Our efforts to establish the Technology Bank are expected to go a long way towards addressing the technological requirements of and gaps facing the African least developed countries. Bangladesh fully appreciates Africa’s emerging potential to transform the world’s political and socioeconomic landscape. The growing role and contribution of African countries to the global trade and economy is also gratifying. We endorse the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and would be happy to contribute to the Agenda in any way we can. Since many of our development challenges are similar to those of African countries, we can complement each other by sharing our development experiences and best practices. Bangladesh can help to realize the full potential of the demographic dividend arising on the African continent with its huge young population. Here at the United Nations, we have consistently supported resolutions on Africa. In the negotiations leading to the global compact for safe, regular and orderly migration, Bangladesh is one of the co-Chairs of the Friends of Migration Group, coordinating closely with the Group of African States, as our positions are often convergent. The same is true for many issues related to climate change. As one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change, Bangladesh realizes the challenges facing many African countries and can contribute to building resilience and to disaster-risk reduction efforts. The United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation is a good platform for Africa’s development. We will continue to work with the Office to cooperate further to that end. As one of the leading troop- and police-contributing countries with extensive experience in peacekeeping, particularly in Africa, Bangladesh will continue to contribute to improving Africa’s peace and security situation. Our peacekeepers have shed blood for their African brothers in the cause of peace. In almost all of the African countries where our peacekeepers have been deployed, they were able to leave a deep and positive mark on the society through their dedicated service and efforts. After all, peacekeeping is not only about the enforcement of peace but also about winning the hearts and minds of the host population. On the bilateral front, despite our geographical remoteness, we are continuously expanding our diplomatic outreach to the African continent. In 2016 alone, we opened as many as three full-fledged diplomatic missions in Africa, including one in Addis Ababa, in order to increase our engagement with the African Union. Our teachers, doctors, engineers and other professionals contribute to the socioeconomic development of many African countries. There is a huge opportunity for investment cooperation in health, agriculture, particularly contract farming, and education-related areas within a win-win framework. We are sharing our success in e-governance with African countries. In Somalia, for example, we are working on innovation in the delivery of public services and in Ethiopia, on the role that information and communications technology can play in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. We are also in talks with some other African countries. Those are replicable examples of South- South cooperation. A number of our non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including the Bangladesh Rural Advancment Committee, one of the largest anti-poverty NGOs in the world, are working in many African countries in public health and socioeconomic improvement programmes, using our home-grown approach. Bangladesh has made significant progress in combating malaria. We have seen a reduction of more than 50 per cent in the number of malaria cases and 54 per cent in related deaths since 2010. However, many people are still at risk of the disease. We have therefore revised our strategy so as to ensure alignment with the World Health Organization’s Global Technical Strategy for Malaria 2016-2030. That will also greatly contribute towards overall national development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG target 3.3 on ending the malaria epidemic. We are happy to share our experiences and best practices with Africa in terms of capacity-building and the prevention and management of malaria. We hope that a strong, well-organized multi-stakeholder partnership can help to deliver broad health benefits to African countries, including the reduction of malaria in sub-Saharan and other parts of Africa. We look forward to the continued strengthening of our partnership with Africa. We also join the international community in its efforts to ensure and promote peace, security and sustainable development in Africa. We must bear in mind that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development will remain elusive without Africa’s development.

We have heard the last speaker in the debate on these items. The Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of agenda item 68 and its sub-items (a) and (b), and agenda item 13.