Events

DIRECTORATE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION

Press Release Nº04/23rd AU SUMMIT

African Agribusiness Forum opens in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea on the margins of the 23rd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of AU Heads of State and Government

Malabo, Equatorial Guinea -22 June 2014: The African Agribusiness Forum was today opened in Malabo, by the AUC’s Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture, Commissioner, H.E Tumusiime Rhoda Peace, who urged stakeholders to focus on enhancing positive changes towards prosperity that directly impact on the livelihoods of African citizens through an inclusive agricultural transformation process.

The African Agribusiness Forum, held ahead of the 23rdOrdinary Session of the Assembly of African Union Heads of State and Government, is meant to enhance private sector engagement and inclusive agribusiness transformation in Africa.
The Summit is being held under the theme, “Transforming Africa’s agriculture for shared prosperity and improved livelihoods; harnessing opportunities for inclusive growth and sustainable development,” and is also being held in the 2014 AU Year of Agriculture and Food and Nutrition Security and the commemoration of the 10 year anniversary since the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) was adopted.

Commissioner Tumusiime said the last decade of CAADP implementation, has redefined and reshaped the critical path to the attainment of Africa`s agricultural transformation objectives.
Mrs. Tumusiime informed the Forum that the recent AU Joint Conference of Ministers of Agriculture, Rural Development, Fisheries and Aquaculture, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 1st to 2nd May 2014 adopted a Resolution endorsing seven Africa Accelerated Agricultural Growth and Transformation Goals (3AGTGs) for 2025 for consideration by the AU Heads of State and Government, at their Malabo Summit.

The joint conference recommended among other things the need to enhance Public-Private Partnerships and Investment Financing for African Agriculture and called on stakeholders to establish and/or strengthen inclusive public-private partnerships for at least five (5) priority agricultural commodity value chains with a strong linkage to smallholder agriculture and to strengthen the capacities of domestic apex private sector intermediary institutions for inclusive facilitation and coordination to ensure engagement of the private sector in CAADP implementation.

‘’This forum will, therefore, provide an opportunity for men, women and youth stakeholders in the agribusiness sector to discuss and develop concrete strategies for the realization of these recommendations,” she said. `

In a key note address, the new AUC Head of Division of Agriculture and Food Security Mr. Boaz Keizire, highlighted the key opportunities and challenges for enhancing Africa’s agribusiness value chains and the outcomes of the AU Joint Conference of Ministers of Agriculture, Rural Development and Aquaculture.

The opening session was also attended by AUC Commissioners for Trade and Industry and Political Affairs, T.E Fatima Acyl and Alcha Abdullahi, respectively.

Media contact;
Ms. Carol Jilombo
Rural Economy and Agriculture
Jilomboc@africa-union.org

Welcome remarks of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma to the 28th Ordinary Session of the Permanent Representative Committee

Malabo, 20-22 June 2014

 
Your Excellency, Ambassador of Zimbabwe and Acting Chairperson of the Permanent Representatives Committee;

Your Excellencies Members of the Permanent Representatives Committee;

The Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission,
Mr Erastus Mwencha;

Leaders of AU Organs

Representatives of the Regional Economic Communities

Commissioners of the African Union Commission;

Distinguished Officials from Capitals

Distinguished Invited Guests

It is a pleasure to address the Permanent Representatives Committee (PRC) given your important role in Summit preparations and in complementing the day-to-day work of the African Union Commission.

Allow me to sincerely thank the people and Government of Equatorial Guinea for their legendary hospitality and for putting at our disposal these excellent conference facilities.

Your Excellencies

The meeting of the PRC takes place in the context a working sessions of the Summit, looking at progress on decisions that should consolidate the work of the Union and take the continent forward.

At the same time, we are near-conclusion with the political statement and technical documents on our vision for the next fifty years. The work on Agenda 2063, as our discussions at the joint PRC-AU Commission retreat showed, must move beyond aspirations, towards identifying those concrete areas where we must see action and faster movement forward in the next decade, so that we start building the Africa that we want today.

The theme of this Summit and its focus on Agriculture and Food security is but one such area. The theme debate must see us recommit to the overarching CAADP targets of raising investment and productivity in agriculture. We must also put in place the concrete actions we must take as countries, regions and the continent to stimulate agribusiness value chains, identifying which specific agricultural products this should be, and where. It requires renewed focus on irrigation and seed development; women’s access to land, inputs and markets; and the infrastructure to store products and move them to markets, inside and outside the continent.

Many of the Ministerial reports serving before the PRC focus on other practical issues necessary to move Agenda 2063 forward, such as that of the Ministers of Education, and of the Ministers of Science and Technology and others.

The evidence is overwhelming that developing countries who managed to lift their populations out of poverty and build shared prosperity, are those who heavily invested in education, skills development and science and technology; as well as building their infrastructure. It is thus timely that Summit is requested to consider our vision and the concrete tasks to achieve this especially in Science and Technology.

Excellencies,

We are five years away from our target date for silencing the guns. This requires focused attention to resolving the conflicts that remain, consolidating peace and preventing and stopping the outbreak of other conflicts. At the same time, as we have seen in Mali and Somalia and escalating in Nigeria and Kenya, we face the growing threat of terrorism, extremism and attacks on innocent civilians. Our hearts go out to the victims and families of such attacks, and we must continue to pledge solidarity and work with the governments of the affected countries to stem the tide.

Terrorism and transnational crime, including arms, drugs and human trafficking know no borders, and we are all affected. The AU must also continue to address the issue of sexual violence in conflicts, as we push for protection of civilians, participation of women in peace processes and for prevention.

It bears repeating that the surest route to lasting peace and permanently silencing the guns is to build inclusive, equitable and tolerant societies. We must be steadfast about creating conditions for peace, through the building blocks of development and shared prosperity.

Excellencies,

It is for all these reasons that the continual improvement of the institutional architecture of our Union remains important, a matter that occupied our deliberations during the Hawassa PRC-AUC Retreat in April this year.

The Commission itself, as we informed you at the January Summit, is been paying attention to institutional matters, and is in the process of concluding the organizational review of the structure of the Commission. We also introduced measurers to make our travel policy more cost-effective, and ensured that all administrative structures required in the Rules and Procedures - including the long-moribund Administrative Tribunal - are
functional.

The Commission is improving the turnaround time of its recruitment processes, applying the country quotas to ensure fair distribution, and taking concrete steps to move closer to gender parity in its employment practices.

Over the last week, we presented the 2015 Budget of the Commission, with welcome engagements on the capacity of the Commission to spend, as well as the optimal relationship between its operational and programmatic budget.

As we move with Africa’s integration agenda, the mandates given to the AU by Member States have also been growing. It is, therefore, inevitable that the AU budget has continued to increase over the years.

Your Excellencies;

We are also progressing with the review of Strategic partnerships of the Union, and should be ready to present to next year’s summit. At the same time, there are valuable lessons from the Africa-EU Summit held at the beginning of March this year, that when we are clear about what Africa wants and we coordinate our efforts, we can ensure that we have outcomes which do not undermine our continental agendas. In the coming months, some of us have also been invited to the Africa-US Summit, and we should follow the same approach.

We can already see the benefits of our Common African Position on the post-2015 Development Agenda, providing us with a platform to engage other regions, build South-South solidarity, most recently during the Non-Aligned Movement Ministerial meeting in Algiers and the just held ACP-EU meetings in Nairobi.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

You will recall that the Executive Council, when they met at a Retreat in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, in January this year established a Ministerial Sub-Committee to follow up on implementation of their decisions, as well as Agenda 2063.

The Ministerial Sub-Committee met earlier this month, with the participation of Chief Executive Officers of Regional Economic Communities (RECs), and our strategic partners, the AfDB and UNECA and made valuable inputs on a variety of issues at the core of Africa’s integration agenda. As we deliberate on Agenda 2063 at this session, I trust that those inputs will be taken into consideration.

In conclusion, I know that your Excellencies have been working continuously since May to finalise the reports of the various PRC sub-Committees. This preparatory work and deliberations here at Malabo will go a long way in facilitating the work of the Executive Council and of the Assembly.

I wish to assure you that the Commission will do its best to facilitate your work, and ensuring that the outcomes of your deliberations, and those of the policy organs, are implemented. In this regard, we hope to continue to receive your maximum support and cooperation.

In conclusion, I apologise for the hick-ups in logistics, and assure you that we are working with the host country on these matters.

I wish you fruitful deliberations and thank you for your attention.

Merci beaucoup!
Muito obrigado!
Muchas gracias!
Shukran jazilan!
Asante sana!
Dates:
Jun.20.2014

NOT FOR PUBLICATION OR BROADCAST

MEDIA ADVISORY NOTE FOR THE 23rd ORDINARY SESSION OF THE ASSEMBLY OF THE AFRICAN UNION Malabo, Equatorial Guinea 20-27 June 2014

THEME OF THE SUMMIT

“2014 Year of Agriculture and Food Security, Marking 10th Anniversary of the Adoption of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP)”

EVENTS

20-21 June: 28th Ordinary Session of the Permanent Representatives Committee

23-24 June: 25th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council of the African Union

26-27 June: 23rd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union

1. ACCREDITATION
Access to media facilities will be available only to accredited media representatives. Accreditation is open to bona fide journalists, broadcasters, photographers, film and television camera crews and technicians.

Four methods of accreditation are available:

a. Online system:

The forms are available at: www.au.int/en/summit/23rdSummit

b. E-mail:

After completing the accreditation form available at: www.au.int/en/summit/23rdSummit , the form and scanned copies of all the required documents should be sent via e-mail to Mrs Rahel
Akalewold on: rahela@africa-union.org

c. Mail:

After completing the accreditation form available at: www.au.int/en/summit/23rdSummit , the form and all the required documents should be sent to:

Mrs. Rahel Akalewold
Directorate of Information and Communication
African Union Commission
PO BOX 3243
Addis Ababa
Ethiopia
Tel: + 251 11 551 4555
Fax: +25111551 1299

d. By hand:

After completing the accreditation form available at: www.au.int/en/summit/23rdSummit , the form and all the required documents can be submitted by hand to Mrs. Rahel Akalewold in
Room 501 New Conference Building at the AU Commission.

The application should be signed by a senior executive confirming that the applicant has been assigned to cover the AU Summit.

Required documents to accompany application form:

- Two passport size photographs;
- A letter on a letterhead from the journalist¡¦s organization indicating his/ her function;
- Copy of a professional press card or equivalent identification

It is also advisable to carry hard copies of all the required documents in case of any necessary checks.

Applications should reach Mrs Akalewold before Monday 16 June
2014.

What to do in Malabo?

a. Security badge:
Media members will be given a security badge allowing them to access the permitted areas.

In order to facilitate the entry and activities of the media, its members are requested to ask for a permit at the following e-mail address comitenacional.evento@gmail.com

Alternatively use the following telephone numbers:

- HE Mr Teobaldo Nhaso Matomba - Tel: +240 222 515335 or
- HE Mr Federico Abaga Ondo – Tel: +240 222 273723

b. AU conference badge:
After getting the government issued press badge, journalists will need to get their conference badges from the African Union Commission at the conference center. These will give them access into the conference rooms.

Journalists are advised to make sure they arrive in Malabo in good time so as to have the documentation done before the meetings start.

Journalists are also advised to arrive at summit venues early to ensure that they clear all entry procedures before the meetings start.

2. PASSPORTS AND VISAS
Journalists from countries where Equatorial Guinea has a diplomatic or consular mission should formalize their visa applications in those countries.
Journalists from countries where Equatorial Guinea has no diplomatic or consular mission, have the right to obtain a visa on their arrival at the Malabo Airport.

The official lists of their respective delegations should be sent before-hand by contacting:

HE Mr Teobaldo Nhaso Matomba – Tel: +240 222 515335
Or HE Mr Federico Abaga Ondo – Tel: +240 222 273723

E-mail: comitenacional.evento@gmail.com

PS:
Please note that there is a charge for the visa processing for everyone using national passports.

3 CUSTOMS CLEARANCE
Accredited media personnel bringing technical equipment with them to Malabo will be subject to full Customs Control. Therefore, journalists are kindly requested to send their list of equipment (two copies) together with their application for accreditation. (See media equipment form at www.au.int/en/summit/23rdSummit

4 MEDIA FACILITIES
A media center, with facilities for print and electronic media will be located at the conference center in Malabo.
The computers will provide free Internet access and will share printers. Wi fi connectivity will also be available.

5 INTERVIEWS REQUESTS
Journalists wishing to interview the leadership of the AU Commission during the summit should submit their requests to Mrs Esther Azaa Tankou on YambouE@africa-union.org; esthertankou@yahoo.com.

6 MEDIA BRIEFINGS
Briefings by the African Union resource persons will take place in the media briefing center. Journalists will be given advance notice of the briefing time and speakers.

7. TELEPHONES AND FAXES
Telephone and fax facilities will be available on a commercial basis.

8. TELEVISION AND RADIO
Facilities for satellite feeds can be booked in advance by contacting:

- HE Mr Teobaldo Nhaso Matomba – Tel: +240 222 515335
- Or HE Mr Federico Abaga Ondo – Tel: +240 222 273723
- E-mail: comitenacional.evento@gmail.com

9. PRESS COVERAGE AND PHOTO POOLS
Opening and closing sessions during the meetings are open to journalists, depending on availability of space within the meeting rooms.

10. ACCOMMODATION
Accommodation will be on self-arrangement basis. Journalists are advised to make their booking early to avoid last minute inconveniences.
Please refer to the Equatorial Guinea government website: http://www.maege.org/ or contact: comitenacional.evento@gmail.com. The hotel list for Malabo is also available on http://summits.au.int/en/23rdsummit