Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 27 March 2025 (ECA) – The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) convened its Partners Briefing Meeting under the theme "Create Space for Consultations" on 27 March 2025 at the UNECA Compound in Addis Ababa. The meeting, chaired by Mr. Antonio Pedro, Deputy Executive Secretary (Programme Support), brought together Ambassadors, Heads of cooperation, Multilateral Banks, Foundations, and other development partners to reflect on strategic collaboration in light of the rapidly evolving development financing landscape.
In his opening remarks, Mr. Pedro welcomed participants both in-person and online, noting the importance of sustaining progress made through joint efforts, particularly amid funding constraints and shifting global priorities. He emphasised that the session was designed to reflect openly on recent developments, including the outcomes of the ECA Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development (COM) held from 12–18 March 2025, as well as the Africa Business Forum (ABF) held in February, which focused on advancing Africa's regional value chains.
The debriefing session highlighted key messages from these events, notably the push for value addition in African exports, the development of regional value chains (RVCs) in critical sectors such as agriculture, livestock, pharmaceuticals, and digital transformation, and the imperative to move away from raw material dependency. Participants discussed issues affecting the AfCFTA implementation, such as slow ratification of the Protocol on free movement of persons and the broader need to address infrastructure, trade barriers, and blended financing as catalysts for intra-African trade growth.
Mr Pedro also briefed the Partners on the upcoming Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD), to be held in Kampala in April 2025 and expected conversations on advancing the SDGs, with particular attention to resilience-building, regional integration, and support for vulnerable countries.
Reflecting on the 2024 Partner Survey, ECA shared its response to findings that highlighted areas for improved communication, partner engagement, and feedback mechanisms. Mr. Pedro acknowledged the value of the survey as a tool to continuously refine ECA's programming and partnership model. He also emphasized that partners' feedback on strengthening ECA's presence at the country level was taken seriously, with reflections held during ECA's senior leadership retreat in Gaborone to enhance collaboration with country teams. ECA further conveyed its alignment with partners' reformulated strategies for Africa, recognizing the importance of advancing private sector participation through economic diplomacy.
A central part of the meeting was the interactive discussion session, during which partners and ECA explored ways to sustain gains achieved through joint efforts while responding to emerging challenges. Dialogue revolved around the need for ECA to prioritize areas where it can add the most value in light of the evolving landscape and ongoing financial crisis. Strengthening partnerships and collaboration to maximise impact while minimizing duplication. Partners underscored the importance of aligning with ECA’s integrated XB programmes and welcomed its continued convening power and research capacity. Partners also emphasized the need for ECA to regularly communicate its priorities and welcomed the proposal to engage with African Ambassadors at the annual partners' meeting.
In response to partners' comments, the ECA emphasized its ongoing efforts to enhance prioritization through an integrated resource planning exercise. Additionally, ECA is strengthening its collaboration with the AUC and its institutions to ensure alignment and complementarity. To this end, recent MoUs with AU-AUDA NEPAD and the AfCFTA Secretariat streamline joint work plans. Another key initiative involves selecting a few focus countries for a defined period while continuing to support others."
In concluding the session, ECA thanked partners for their insightful contributions and confirmed that bilateral follow-ups would continue to dive into the integrated programmes aligned with ECA's refined thematic priorities. ECA also announced plans to convene the next Partners Meeting in June 2025, to be hosted by the Executive Secretary.
Issued by:
Communications Section
Economic Commission for Africa
PO Box 3001
Addis Ababa
Ethiopia
Tel: +251 11 551 5826
E-mail: eca-info@un.org