The African Ministers of Industry in favour of an accelerated industrialization of the Continent
From 28 to 30 March 2011, Dr. Kandeh K. Yumkella, Director-General of UNIDO attended the 19th session of the Conference of African Ministers of Industry (CAMI19) in Algiers, together with Mr. Christophe Yvetot, the UNIDO Representative to the European Union.
CAMI is organized jointly every two years by the African Union and UNIDO, and this year included the cooperation of the Algerian Government, under the theme “Enhancing competitiveness of the African industries through increased and improved value addition”. CAMI serves as a forum for African leaders and other stakeholders to discuss and review progress made towards Africa’s industrialization. The event brought together 35 African Ministers of Trade and Industry as well as heads of delegations from over 40 countries.
On this occasion, all the stakeholders agreed for an acceleration of the process of industrialization in Africa according to the Accelerated Industrial Development for Africa (AIDA) plan, signed in 2008 in Addis-Ababa. In complement to the AIDA plan, the newly signed Algiers Declaration states that “synergy between industrial sectors of Africa could bring realization of rapid industrialization, the promotion of sustainable economic growth and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)”. Moreover, the Declaration emphasizes the AIDA talks on resource mobilization and mechanism monitoring.
Mr. Christophe Yvetot underlined that the success of this action plan “mainly depends of the available conditions and the necessary requirements for upgrading. Furthermore, he adds that “it relies on the strong political willingness of UNIDO to contribute to fund mobilization and to give some necessary expertise for helping African countries to realize the AIDA plan and to develop added-value industries, such as agro-alimentary or pharmaceuticals. UNIDO is dedicated to helping Africa to find financial resources for setting up programmes and industries”. Mr. Yvetot concluded to the Algerian Press Service that “UNIDO is currently in dialogue with the European Union to create awareness so that African countries are the main beneficiaries of the Development Aid Funds”.
Dr. Yumkella delivered a statement at the opening ceremony. He also met with Mr. Antonio Tajani, Vice-President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Enterprise and Industry, whom Dr. Yumkella met last week during his visit to the European Commission in Brussels. Mr. Tajani also addressed CAMI19.
Finally, Dr. Yumkella also received one of the highest Algerian awards, the Wissam, for his services as “a son of Africa”, his continued support for human values, and his promotion of the industrial development in Africa.
The award was presented to the Director General by the Minister of Industry, Small and Medium Enterprises and Investment Promotion, H.E. Mr. Mohamed Ben Meradi, on behalf of H.E. President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
