Seventeenth Meeting of the Conference of African Ministers of Industry: Statement by Mrs. Josephine Ouedrago, acting deputy executive secretary of the United nations economic commission for Africa

Abstract

Statement by Mrs. Josephine Ouedrago, Acting Deputy Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa at the Seventeenth Meeting of the Conference of African Ministers of Industry. Mrs. Oudrago, on her remarks highlighted that, the theme of the 17th Meeting of the Conference of African Ministers of Industry, “Productive Capacity: the Challenge for Africa in the Global Trade” perfectly matches with the objectives of both NEPAD and the MDGs agendas. ECA believes that African countries should target recovering their place in world trade through the implementation of effective industrialization programmes. This is feasible and achievable because Africa is on a new path. African governments are enhancing their commitment to economic reforms that should include sound macroeconomic policies, legal and regulatory reforms to support private sector development. The current focus on Africa within the international arena, as well as the recent changes in the regional institutional landscape and the current reform process, clearly dictate the need for repositioning the Economic Commission for Africa.