• Your Execllency Aïssata Tall Sall, Minister of Foreign Affairs of The Republic of Senegal and Chairperson of The Executive Council;
• Your Excellency, Mr. Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of The African Union Commission;
• Your Excellencies, Honourable Members of The Executive Council of The African Union;
• Your Excellency Deputy Chairperson of The African Union;
• Commissioners And Senior Officials from The Au Commission;
• Distinguished Delegates;

I Wish to Warmly Welcome You All to the 41^st Ordinary Session of The Executive Council and Take This Opportunity to Express My Sincere Appreciation for Your Attendance of This Meeting.

Chairperson,

The Implementation of The Aspirations of Agenda 2063 Remains High on Our Organization’s Priorities. It Is for This Reason, That I Wish to Call Upon All of Us as Member States to Renew Our Commitment to Fully Implement Agenda 2063 And Its Flagship Projects.

We Therefore Need to Take Advantage of The Coming into Force of The African Continental Free Trade Area, So as To Attain the Aspirations of Our People.

In Order to Take Full Advantage of The Afcfta, It Is Necessary for Our Countries to Produce and Trade in Value-Added Products.

We Are All Experiencing the High Cost of Capital, Which Is a Binding Constraint to Value Addition, Growth and Transformation of Our Industries.

To Address This Challenge, We Need to Find Innovative Ways of Reducing the Cost of Capital, Mobilizing and Accessing Alternative Financial Resources to Bolster the Competitiveness of Our Products.

Zambia Is Willing and Ready to Play Its Part in Promoting and Enhancing Increased Intra-Africa Trade.

Chairperson,

As We Reflect on The Theme for The Year 2022, We Are Reminded of The Need to Scale Up Efforts in Translating the Continent’s Agricultural Potential into Economic Growth and Food Security.

In Our Quest to Eliminate Hunger, Malnutrition and Enhance Socio-Economic Development, We Need to Reaffirm Our Commitment to The Implementation of The Six Global Targets Outlined in The Africa Regional Nutrition Strategy.

We Also Need to Sieze Emerging Economic Opportunities to Improve Our Production Capacities in The Agriculture Sector. This Will Not Only Make Africa Self Sufficient in Food Production, But Also Make Africa a Net Exporter to The Rest of The World.

Chairperson,

I Would Be Remiss in My Remarks, If I Did Not Highlight the Important Role That Peace and Security Continues to Play in Our Development Agenda.

In This Regard, In Our Continued Efforts to Promote Trade and Investment for Jobs and Wealth Creation in Our Economies, There Is Also Need to Invest in Peace.

Therefore, We Must Act Swiftly in Silencing the Guns on Our Continent, To Free Africa of Pockets of Violence, Terrorism and Insurgencies.

Chairperson,

As We Deliberate and Approve the Allocation of Resources in the 2023 Budget, It Is Imperative That We Collectively Enhance Our Efforts Towards Resource Mobilization and Prudent Utilization. We Must Also Strengthen Our Resolve to Curb the Illicit Financial Flows on Our Continent.

Therefore, We Must Make Efforts to Increase the Financing of The AU Budget and Work Towards Ensuring That the Continent Supports Its Own Programmes.

Chairperson,

It Is Also Important to Remind Ourselves That the Covid-19 Pandemic Is Still in Our Midst. Its Negative Impact on Our Societies and Economies Remains a Matter of Grave Concern. There Is Need, Therefore, To Strengthen Our Capacities to Manage the Long Term Social and Economic Effects of The Pandemic.

We Must Put in Place Strategies to Ensure That Our Economies and Societies Are More Resilient to External Shocks. We Can Only Achieve This by Working Together as A Continent.

Chairperson,

As I Conclude My Remarks, I Am Confident That Our Deliberations During This Session Will Lead to Positive Outcomes and Recommendations for The Consideration of Our Heads of State and Government.

During Your Stay in Zambia, I Invite You to Explore the Sights and Sounds of Our Dynamic City of Lusaka and Visit Our Tourist Attractions Beyond Lusaka. Packages Are Available for You to Explore Our Beautiful Country After the Meeting.

I Thank You for Your Kind Attention!