From 1 to 2 May, the United Nations (UN) Deputy Secretary-General, Amina J. Mohammed, visited Ethiopia to engage with the African Union Commission (AUC) leadership on strategies to leverage the AU - UN partnership in support of the acceleration of Africa’s development, including through the implementation of the Joint AU-UN framework for implementation of Agenda 2063 and 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals  and strengthening the agency of the AU and its organs and institutions to attain the desired socio-economic transformation.

The Deputy Secretary-General held a high-level dialogue with the AUC Deputy Chairperson, Monique Nsanzabaganwa, attended by the UN Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser on Africa, Cristina Duarte; the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) to the AU and Head of UNOAU; the Acting Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Pedro Antonio; AU Commissioners for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development, Minata Samate Cessouma; for Education, Science, Technology, and Innovation, Mohamed Belhocine; and for Infrastructure and Energy, Amani Abou-Zeid, as well as  by senior officials of both institutions.

The participants exchanged views on how Africa’s resources could be leveraged to mitigate vulnerabilities and ensure the continent gets back on track for attaining the ambitions set out in Agenda 2063 and Agenda 2030. The deliberations took into consideration the global context, including the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, the implications of Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine, the fissures in the current multilateral processes, and the multifaceted adverse impacts on Africa’s socio-economic progress, particularly regarding widening poverty, inequalities and heightening societal tensions. In this context, the meeting agreed on jointly developing and implementing sets of interventions under key strategic pillars, which include ensuring macro-economic stability and sustainable financing; promoting trade, sustainable industrialization and economic diversification; joint initiatives for climate action and just energy transition; digital transformation; and focusing more on the governance, peace and security, and development nexus.

The meeting underscored the imperative for strengthened institutional cohesiveness, as well as coherent, coordinated interventions, with emphasis on better alignment of priorities and promotion of efficiency and effectiveness in the harnessing and utilization of Africa’s resources potential. The meeting agreed on the next steps to strengthen coordination to attain the desired results.

During her visit, the Deputy Secretary-General also paid courtesy calls to the senior political leadership of the Federal Government of Ethiopia, the AUC Chairperson, and she met with the UN Country Team and held a brainstorming meeting with the UNECA senior leadership and staff. Chairperson Faki warmly welcomed the DSG and welcomed the emphasis on development to bolster the AU-UN partnership, building on the momentum set by the December 1^st Annual Conference in Addis Ababa with the Secretary-General.