// LEADERS' VIEWS
JOÃO LOURENÇO, PRESIDENT, ANGOLA, AND CHAIRPERSON, AFRICAN UNION
I nfrastructure is one of the essential pillars of the African Union’s Agenda 2063, which obliges us to mobilise as many financial resources as possible in order to achieve the goals we have set ourselves in this area and in the areas of technological innovation, food security and energy transition. The African Union Commission, in coordination with the Regional Economic Communities and Regional Mechanisms, should work on organising a major continental conference on infrastructure in Africa this year, where we should try to convey to our main cooperation partners at the bilateral and multilateral level the importance and advantages of investing in financing and investing in continental interconnection infrastructures, as a way of participating directly in the whole process of growth and development in Africa, one of the different ways of doing justice to Africans and people of African descent, and one of the many other means of reparations. I consider it a priority that we seriously invest in building and improving our roads and motorways, modernising our railways, ports and airports, as well as creating electricity transmission and distribution lines so that we can take energy from areas where there is a surplus to those that lack this fundamental commodity. Let’s work together to build a new International Financial Architecture, so that our continent is no longer seen as a secondary, marginal player, but as an active and decisive part of the global economy… Another important challenge facing the African continent has to do with issues relating to terrorism and violent extremism, unconstitutional changes of democratically elected governments and the conflicts that still prevail on our continent. In the various forums, conferences and summits that are being held on the continent on these issues, there is a common concern about the desire to work in a coordinated way to put an end to conflicts once and for all and to devote our energies, attention and resources to development issues… In terms of peace and security in Africa, it is my conviction that we must act to find African solutions to African problems and silence the guns
Building Africa’s future through unity
so that this issue does not continue to dominate our agendas and our debate almost forever… In this regard, I think it would be useful to hold a large conference right here on our continent, in whichever country is willing to host the initiative, dedicated solely to analysing conflicts in Africa, the main focus of which should be on the issue of peace as an obligatory and undeniable good for all the peoples of our continent. The promoters in Africa of tensions and conflicts on our continent must be discouraged, held accountable and penalised with heavy sanctions from the organisation that will have serious consequences for them. This issue should be considered more thoroughly by this Commission, so that the Peace and Security Council can play a fundamental role in the action it should take to prevent and resolve the conflicts that prevail on the African continent. What is at stake is the need to create a solid Peace and Security Architecture in Africa, which is one of our continent’s greatest concerns today. We should be ashamed of the fact that institutions outside Africa, such as the European Union or the United Nations Security Council, are sometimes more rigorous, demanding and forceful in their positions than we are in dealing with the conflicts taking place on our own continent… Assemblies of Heads of State and Government are generally excessively long and therefore not as productive as might be expected. In view of this, it is important to reflect as soon as possible on the solutions to be identified, so that our working sessions become more objective and productive. The Heads of State and Government should only be asked to analyse and decide on fundamental issues, above all those of politics, peace, defence and security, diplomacy and economic and social development. I therefore believe it is fundamental to think about a more agile, less bureaucratic operating model that is more likely to lead us to good resolutions and conclusions, with an agenda that can be dealt with in a reasonable timeframe. Speech on the occasion of the Handover Ceremony, 13 March 2025
30 // G20 SOUTH AFRICA: THE JOHANNESBURG SUMMIT 2025
Made with FlippingBook - PDF hosting