Launching Ceremony for “AIDA/AfCFTA Impact Assessment Guide” took place in Accra, Ghana
Day：2024.08.02
event ｜
On 17 July 2024, JICA, AUDA-NEPAD and the AfCFTA Secretariat collaborated to hold a launching ceremony in Accra, Ghana, for the completion of the “AIDA (Accelerated Industrial Development for Africa) /AfCFTA (African Continental Free Trade Area) Impact Assessment Guide”.
The ceremony was attended by His Excellency Hisanobu Mochizuki, Ambassador of Japan to Ghana, Mr. Toshiyuki Nakamura, Special Advisor to the President of JICA, Her Excellency Nardos Bekele-Thomas, CEO of AUDA-NEPAD, His Excellency Wamkele Mene, Secretary-General of AfCFTA Secretariat, as well as other representatives from internal and national organizations including African Union, UNECA, UNIDO and Afreximbank.
(From left to right) H.E. Nardos Bekele-Thomas, CEO, AUDA-NEPAD; Mr. Toshiyuki Nakamura, Special Assistant to the President, JICA; H.E. Wamkele Mene, Secretary-General, AfCFTA, H.E. Hisanobu Mochizuki, Japanese Ambassador to Ghana.
The AIDA/AfCFTA Impact Assessment Guide, which serves as a unified indicator for measuring and assessing the social and economic impacts of the industrialisation pursued by AIDA and the implementation of the AfCFTA, was developed under the leadership of AUDA-NEPAD in collaboration with the AfCFTA Secretariat and the AUC, and JICA provided support. It is expected that the Guide will be used to measure the impact of industrialization and the initiative of AfCFTA in the member states of the African Union (AU), so that these impacts can be visualised and intra-continental trade can be further stimulated through industrialization and the promotion of AfCFTA operations.
At the launching ceremony, Mr. Nakamura, Special Advisor to the President of JICA, stated that this Assessment Guide, which was developed through co-creation between JICA and its African partners, is a milestone in the promotion of Africa's economic development, and that JICA remains committed to realize comprehensive and sustainable future for Africa.
H.E. Mene, Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, expressed his appreciation for the initiative of AUDA-NEPAD in completing this Assessment Guide. He also extended it to JICA's contribution, not only for the completion of this Guide, but also in the promotion of trade and trade-related infrastructure as well as industrialisation across the African continent.
In closing, H.E. Bekele Thomas, CEO of AUDA-NEPAD, stated that ‘Africa's development and progress cannot be achieved by a single organization. We need cooperation and co-creation with various partners, including Japan. We will further promote efforts at the national, regional and continental levels to achieve our Agenda 2063’. The meeting was addressed as follows.
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