Launching in Abidjan of the 4th edition of "Assessing Regional Integration in Africa" (ARIA IV)

Abstract

His Excellency Mr. Festus Mogae, Former President of Botswana and Chairperson of the Governing Council of the Coalition for Dialogue on Africa (CoDA) conducted Monday in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, the launching of the 4th edition of ARIA IV, a joint flagship publication of the African Development Bank (AfDB), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the African Union Commission (AUC). At the ceremony organized on the eve of the annual assembly of the AfDB Group, Mr. Mogae underscored the importance of regional integration for Africa, with particular reference to the urgency of boosting intra-African trade,, the theme for the current year. As Chairperson of CoDA, his appreciation went to the three co-publishing institutions for the quality of work done to produce the current edition. It was now up to stakeholders to familiarize themselves with ARIA IV, give utmost consideration to its content and use it to best advantage. In his address, Mr. Abdoulie Janneh, Executive Secretary of ECA highlighted the fact that in the entire preceding decade, intraAfrican trade had accounted for a mere 10 to 12 per cent of the total trade of the African continent. Mr. Janneh maintained that three key elements requiring our combined efforts within the context of regional integration had to do with our continuing debate over the form and direction it should take. We must combine our efforts to promote trans-border cooperation in key sectors and in strengthening integration institutions in Africa, more particularly AU and the RECs. Speaking on behalf of the AfDB Group, Mr. Gabriel Negatu, Director of the AfDB Governance Department gave the assurance that regional integration remained an essential pillar of AfDB’s medium and long-term strategy.