President Kagame addresses the 8th Session of the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development
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00:00 [ Music ]
00:14 >> I am pleased to join you today to open the eighth session
00:21 of the African, Africa Regional Forum
00:26 on Sustainable Development.
00:28 First, allow me to welcome you to Rwanda.
00:36 We are happy to host you.
00:41 I also wish to thank the United Nations Economic Commission
00:47 for Africa under the leadership of Dr. Vera Songwe
00:54 for the good work being done to advance our continent's
01:02 development.
01:04 Over the years, Africa has made significant progress
01:14 to tackle economic, socioeconomic challenges.
01:21 However, the COVID pandemic has slowed development gains
01:33 and in some cases reversed that progress that had been made.
01:41 But we have to look for the seed of aligning in this crisis.
01:51 Throughout response, our response,
01:57 we can build an Africa that is greener and more resilient
02:05 with the Sustainable Development Goals
02:08 and Agenda 2063 as our blueprint.
02:16 The truth is that we are off track
02:21 in achieving these targets even before the pandemic
02:27 in some cases.
02:30 Instead of being a setback, pandemic response
02:38 and recovery can be used as a springboard to speed up progress
02:44 and innovate smarter ways to invest
02:48 in human capital development.
02:52 Allow me to mention three specific actions
02:59 for your consideration.
03:03 First, Africa must build mutually beneficial
03:09 partnerships to strengthen its capacity to manufacture
03:16 vaccines and pharmaceuticals.
03:20 The Economic Commission for Africa
03:24 has been working on this for some time
03:29 in the context of the Africa continental free trade area.
03:37 Africa CDC and AODA NEPAD have jointly led the way
03:48 on the need for the African Medicines Agency,
03:52 which has now come into force.
03:56 And last year, Africa CDC brought together
04:01 key stakeholders in the partnership
04:05 for African vaccines manufacturing.
04:11 This initiative laid the groundwork
04:15 for BioNTech's commitment to produce mRNA vaccines
04:23 end to end in Ghana, Senegal and Rwanda,
04:30 starting later this year.
04:35 Second, Africa should prioritize domestic resource mobilization
04:43 to finance its development,
04:46 particularly for national health systems.
04:54 Progress has already been made for domestic health financing
05:00 on our continent, and we should build on this momentum.
05:06 Lastly, to support Africa's green growth,
05:13 the African continental free trade area
05:17 should be used to promote the adoption
05:22 of sustainable technologies and infrastructure.
05:29 To achieve the SDGs and Agenda 2063,
05:36 the goals need to be integrated in our national planning
05:41 frameworks, and it won't happen on its own.
05:49 It is essential to have strong mechanisms
05:56 to monitor progress and quickly adjust implementation.
06:03 I commend this forum for showcasing the benefits
06:09 of voluntary national and subnational reviews.
06:16 Building the Africa we want is up to us.
06:22 We have to own and lead the process
06:28 and support one another.
06:32 That's why these two development agendas are so important.
06:42 It's about ensuring the stability and prosperity
06:47 of our continent so that our young people
06:52 can have the future they deserve.
06:57 I hope that your deliberations in the coming days
07:04 will set the tone for Africa's position ahead
07:10 of the high-level political forum
07:13 on sustainable development.
07:18 Before I end my remarks, once again,
07:26 I want to thank you, Deputy Secretary-General of the UN,
07:37 Dr. Amina Mohammed, for your contribution
07:45 to this continent and through the UN to the global community
07:54 on many agendas that were mentioned earlier.
08:01 And thank you for your presence here.
08:04 Once again, I thank all of you for gathering here
08:13 in our capital, feel at home, and come back very often.
08:23 I thank you for your kind attention.
08:26 [MUSIC PLAYING]