Joint 9th Session of the Specialized Technical Committee on Finance, Monetary Affairs, Economic Planning and Integration
&
The 5th Session of the Specialized Technical Committee on Trade, Tourism, Industry and Minerals
Statement
By
Mr. Claver Gatete
United Nations Under-Secretary-General and
Executive Secretary of ECA
Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
23 July 2026
H.E. Robert Beugré Mambe, Prime Minister of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire,
H.E. Francisca Tatchouop Belobe, AUC Commissioner for Economic Development, Trade, Tourism, Industry & Minerals (ETTIM),
Honourable Ministers,
Heads of Regional and International Institutions,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Permit me at the outset to express my sincere appreciation to the African Union Commission for its kind invitation and for bringing us together for this important Joint Session.
Indeed, it is a great honour to join you in this vibrant city of Abidjan for this Joint Session of our Specialized Technical Committees on Finance, Monetary Affairs, Economic Planning and Integration, and on Trade, Tourism, Industry and Minerals.
I wish to start by expressing my sincere appreciation to His Excellency the Prime Minister, the Government and the people of Côte d’Ivoire for their warm hospitality and for convening us under the timely theme: “Financing Africa’s Industrialization for Sustainable Development.”
Few conversations could be more important for our continent today.
And the global context reminds us why.
Over the past few years, the world has witnessed a succession of shocks – from the COVID-19 pandemic to climate change, geopolitical tensions and, more recently, the conflict in the Middle East.
Together, these events have exposed a simple reality: economies that do not produce are economies that remain vulnerable.
The conflict in the Middle East has once again demonstrated how quickly distant crises can reverberate across Africa through higher fuel prices, rising shipping and insurance costs, disrupted supply chains, food inflation and tighter financial conditions.
For Africa, where more than 40 countries remain net importers of petroleum products, external shocks quickly become domestic constraints on development.
Compounding this challenge, official development assistance is declining, concessional finance is becoming scarcer and debt-service obligations continue to absorb precious fiscal resources.
Considering our current situation, it is clear that Africa cannot rely indefinitely on external financing to transform its economies.
We must increasingly finance Africa’s development with African resources.
That is why ECA continues to advance domestic resource mobilization as the foundation of Africa’s economic transformation.
We have been supporting Member States to strengthen tax administration, digitize revenue systems, tackle illicit financial flows, expand domestic capital markets, leverage innovative financing and build stronger fiscal institutions capable of financing industrial development.
But financing alone cannot lead to the structural transformation we seek.
No country has achieved lasting prosperity without industrialization, and no country has industrialized without sustained investment in productive sectors.
Finance and industrial policy are therefore inseparable.
Fortunately, Africa approaches this critical moment from a position of opportunity as well as urgency.
Industrialization means processing more, manufacturing more, trading more with ourselves and retaining more value within Africa.
However, Excellencies, the defining challenge before us is to ensure that finance serves production.
Capital should flow to the sectors that expand productive capacity, deepen regional value chains and promote greater value addition across the continent.
Financing systems must support long-term investment in infrastructure, manufacturing, innovation and competitive enterprises.
They should also reinforce the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area and strengthen regional industrial integration.
This is the transformation we must pursue. One that creates quality jobs, raises productivity, strengthens economic resilience and positions Africa as a globally competitive centre for production, manufacturing and innovation.
Excellencies,
The significance of this Joint STC lies in bringing together finance ministers, trade ministers, central bank governors, industry leaders and development partners around one table.
Fragmented policies cannot produce integrated economies. We need coherent action across macroeconomic policy, trade, infrastructure, energy, finance and industrial development.
Allow me therefore to suggest five priorities for our consideration.
First, we must significantly strengthen domestic resource mobilization. Africa’s tax-to-GDP ratio remains around 16% while illicit financial flows continue to drain close to US$90 billion every year.
Digital tax administration, stronger institutions and fair international tax cooperation must become central pillars of financing industrialization.
Second, we need to use public resources strategically to crowd in much larger volumes of private capital.
Better project preparation, blended finance, guarantees and deeper domestic capital markets can transform every public dollar into multiple dollars of productive investment.
Third, we must accelerate regional value chains under the AfCFTA.
Industrial corridors, special economic zones and regional production networks will enable Africa to move from exporting commodities to producing higher-value goods, creating quality jobs and strengthening resilience.
Fourth, we should make affordable, reliable and sustainable energy the engine of industrial transformation.
The future of Africa’s energy security does not lie in isolated national grids, but in an integrated continental market where countries cooperate through regional power pools and interconnections.
Such collaboration can reduce costs, improve reliability, expand renewable energy potential, and provide the scale needed to drive Africa’s industrial growth and competitiveness.
Fifth, we must strengthen Africa’s financial architecture and voice in global economic governance.
The African Financing Stability Mechanism, the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System, the Alliance of African Multilateral Financial Institutions and the African Credit Rating Agency in this respect are important building blocks of a more robust continental financial system.
Aligned with the African Development Bank’s New Africa Financial Architecture for Development, these initiatives can strengthen Africa’s financial capacity, keep more savings and investment on the continent, and mobilize the long-term resources needed for infrastructure, industry and innovation.
Excellencies,
I am confident that, by working together, we can make industrialization a genuine pathway to decent jobs, resilient economies and shared prosperity.
In doing so, we can ensure that Africa moves beyond being primarily a supplier of raw materials to become a globally competitive centre of manufacturing and innovation.
The Economic Commission for Africa remains committed to work with the African Union Commission, the African Development Bank, Afreximbank, AUDA-NEPAD, the Regional Economic Communities and all our partners to translate our collective commitments into tomorrow's factories, industries, jobs and prosperity for all Africans.
I thank you.