AU urges global community to advocate accelerated, inclusive industrialization in Africa

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ADDIS ABABA, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- The African Union (AU) on Saturday emphasized the need to mobilize African and global leaders as well as the international development organizations to promote an accelerated, sustainable and inclusive industrialization of Africa.

The 55-member pan African bloc made the call ahead of the upcoming African Industrialization Week (AIW-2019), which is set to attract over 1,000 African experts and policymakers at the AU headquarters in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa from November 18 to 22 under the theme "Positioning African Industry to Supply the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Market."

The AU, in a statement issued on Saturday, disclosed that the continental industrialization week among other things envisaged "mobilizing both African and leaders from the rest of the world, including international development organizations to advocate for the accelerated and sustainable as well as inclusive industrialization of Africa."

The event also aspires the promotion of startups, small and medium-sized enterprises and industries, and established middle and high-cap industries so as "to strengthen the continent's capacity to integrate into the global production and trading system," according to the AU.

It also aims "to provide a platform for public-private engagement between industrial policymakers, the private sector, civil society, and development cooperating partners as they endeavor to share ideas on how to shape the continent's industrialization agenda."

The AU also expects the week-long event to promote the implementation of continental frameworks such as the Accelerated Industrial Development of Africa and the Africa Mining Vision.

The continental industrialization week is also expected to develop a continental strategy on the automotive value chain with an aim to catalyze Africa's industrialization, it was noted.

The organizers of the AIW include AU Commission's Department of Trade and Industry, International Trade Centre, Geneva (ITC), Ethiopian Ministry of Trade and Industry, and the UN Industrial Development Organization.

Last week, the AU had also disclosed that the 2019 edition of the AIW will bring together sectoral profiles ranging from high-tech companies, manufacturers, tourism, medicare, automotive, textiles, fertilizers, and the financial sector.

According to the AU, about 1,000 multi-stakeholder delegates drawn from the private sector, public sector, civil society, development partners, trade and industry think-tanks within and outside Africa will attend the event. Enditem

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