Continent’s Demands Require New Sets of Skills, Forms of Partnership: ECA Acting Executive Secretary

Addis Ababa December 13/2022/ENA/ Africa's demands are increasingly becoming more complex in nature and will require new sets of skills and forms of partnership, Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) Acting Executive Secretary Antonio Pedro said.

Opening the three-day ECA Expo 2022 today, the acting executive secretary said the strategic role of the commission needs to evolve in equal measures to match the continent’s current and future demands as we strive to support the member states to realize the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and Agenda 2063 goals.

The complexity and dynamism of opportunities and challenges facing the continent present a further challenge for decision-makers tasked with formulating strategies and policies that effectively address interconnected and interdependent problems, he added.  

Pedro stressed that “we need to acknowledge that the continent’s demands are increasingly becoming more complex in nature and will require new sets of skills and forms of partnership.”

Regarding the need for new and strengthened partnership to address the new complex and interconnected challenges and harness opportunities, he said “we need to forge new partnership to bring in other players, including private investors and civil society, while striving to strengthen the existing ones.”

Embracing innovative and disruptive thinking to provide practical solutions for real life challenges affecting the member states now and in the future-knowledge sharing and open dialogue with esteemed clients are some ways of nurturing collaborative innovation, he pointed out.

The ECA Expo 2022 showcases diverse products, tangible and non-tangible, from divisions and sub-regional offices.