Csaba Kőrösi, President of the 77th session of the General Assembly
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African Union Challenges Conference: Towards an integrated and more resilient Africa
(As delivered)
Executive Director Abderrahmane Chabib,
My good friend and colleague Ambassador Maurizio Massari,
Good morning dear friends
Welcome to New York and welcome to the United Nations.
You have here a tour de raison on most of the big issues that we are dealing with in the most prominent platform in the world.
From wars to development, from peacekeeping to challenges in the upcoming generations,
How does it look like in the case of Africa?
All of us are coming from Africa. Some only a few weeks ago, some of you maybe a few days ago, some others hundreds of thousand years back.
It happened when one thousand miles were a long distance and a millennia was a short time in the unwritten history.
Let us not forget that we share our origin as well as share our long-term destination.
Africa is rising. And that ascent is unstoppable.
Yet, the encouraging trends of the last three decades have succumbed to the so-called “perfect storm” of the last three years.
Too many crises are cascading, and too many of them are at their tipping points simultaneously.
The African continent faces challenges that are supercharged by the devastating effects of climate change.
It is a scourge from which Africa and Africans disproportionately suffer, despite not significantly contributing to global greenhouse gas emissions.
Further, Africa is still recovering from centuries of violence, systemic oppression, and the unfettered exploitation of its natural resources.
And as we heard just a couple of minutes ago from the Minister, our world is inching closer to a new chapter of global geopolitical divide, and Africa is yet again facing difficult questions impacting its future.
In Africa, the convergence of these manifold crises seriously compromises the prospect of achieving the SDGs by 2030, and the African Union’s Agenda by 2063.
How can Africans themselves securely put their nations on the path of sustained and sustainable development?
How can they emerge from today’s crises as more stable and more resilient?
Why do more and more people say that Africa is the future?
I hope today’s conference of yours will help us find the answers to these questions.
Dear Friends,
Among the stark realities brought to light by Covid-19 is the need to rebalance global development and deepen African engagement.
In general, Africa’s economic strength and potential are not reflected by the benefits of its participation in the global economy.
Reimagining a future of growth and development in Africa must begin with a radical transformation of our financial systems.
Africa deserves access to development credit and better connections to global markets.
We must create new international financial mechanisms that treat Africa without the institutional suspicion and the hereditary bias it is so often subjected to.
Dear Colleagues,
As PGA, my first working trip was to Africa.
At COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, I was proud to witness the launch of a loss and damage fund for the countries which are most vulnerable to the climate crisis.
I was also lucky to be present at the birth of the so-called Action for Water Adaptation and Resilience – referred to as AWARe initiative, the first comprehensive program integrating climate and water policies to help Africa.
These types of bold innovations are exactly what is needed to spearhead transformation.
In addition, the African Union Green Recovery Plan from 2021 to 2027 represents an important tool towards resilience and adaptation.
The UN Water Conference in March, which we had just two weeks back, highlighted the need for game changers which can lead to an impactful Water Action Agenda.
An agenda to assure resilience and sustainability all over the world, in all your countries.
Dear Friends,
We have 16 mandated processes ongoing in the UN General Assembly.
While they differ in nature, they all share the same two purposes: transformation and the acceleration of the SDGs’ implementation.
These negotiations will all play a role in filling the gaps and addressing challenges faced by African countries on the road to fulfilling the 2030 Agenda.
But they are equally important for other countries, as well.
Intra-Africa trade stands at about 16 per cent, compared to 54 per cent in North America and 70 per cent in the European Union.
So, the African Union Theme for 2023 – “Acceleration of African Continental Free Trade Area Implementation” – could not be timelier.
Dear Friends,
Achieving a resilient recovery in Africa will not be easy.
It is going to be a long journey. An uphill battle.
Because, as the old African proverb goes, “There are no shortcuts to the top of a palm tree.”
It will require sizeable investments in people, in infrastructure, and in coping mechanisms, rooted in an unshakable solidarity – with Africa, but also within Africa.
It will require visionary and transformative reforms.
It will require grounding all decisions in science.
It will require commitment, responsibility and good governance.
It will require peace.
And it will require mobilizing all domestic capabilities, including those of Africa’s women and young people, like yourselves.
As we work to achieve the 2030 and 2063 Agendas, their voices, your voices, and contributions will be essential to building a world that upholds the rights and dignity of all.
A world that offers peace and prosperity to each and every of its citizens.
Each and every of you.
Thank you very much.
