Alexandria Declaration Reaffirms Commitment to Owning, Financing, and Leading Africa's Development Agenda
Cairo, Oct 4 (KUNA) -- The “Alexandria Declaration,” issued today by the founding members of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) summit, reaffirmed the commitment to owning, financing, and leading Africa’s development agenda through predictable, Africa-owned funding supported by strong, transparent governance.
The declaration, a copy of which was obtained by the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), reiterated the shared commitment to a unified, prosperous, peaceful, and self-reliant Africa led by its citizens, with progress driven by strengthening partnerships among African heads of state and governments, African peoples, the private sector, regional economic communities, and international partners.
The declaration underscored the paramount importance of enhancing tolerance and inclusion, and of protecting and upholding the rights and freedoms of all Africans, including migrants, as well as the close interlinkages between peace, security, and development. It affirmed the centrality of Agenda 2063 as the continent’s roadmap for inclusive growth, structural transformation, regional integration, industrialization, human capital development, and resilience to climate change.
It also recognized the institutional evolution from NEPAD to the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), highlighting the agency’s growing role and impact as the continent’s leading development agency and strategic facilitator for project preparation, resource mobilization, and tangible development outcomes in support of Agenda 2063.
The declaration welcomed the progress made over 25 years in infrastructure, agricultural transformation, regional value chains, and institutional capacity, while acknowledging persistent gaps in financing, implementation capacity, and coordination that must be decisively addressed.
It highlighted the pivotal role of the African private sector, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), youth, and women as drivers of innovation, job creation, value chain development, sustainable industrialization, and accelerated implementation of Agenda 2063.
The declaration expressed deep concern over evolving global development dynamics, including constraints on development financing, shifts in geopolitical dynamics, and Africa’s inadequate representation in global financial governance and other areas. It also voiced concern over the decline in financial contributions by African member states to the budget of AUDA-NEPAD, and the resulting negative impact on the agency’s ability to effectively fulfill its mandate.
It reaffirmed the need to continue integrating the work of AUDA-NEPAD with relevant development commissioners of the African Union Commission, regional economic communities, and member states through the African Team initiative, thereby institutionalizing the continent’s development momentum rather than leaving it fragmented.
The declaration reiterated the central role of the African private sector as a key driver of continental development and a crucial element in stimulating the second ten-year implementation plan of Agenda 2063.
It decided to establish the Alexandria Investment Platform by the African Union Summit in February 2027, to consolidate private capital commitments and investment pledges arising from the Alexandria Africa Forum. The platform will report the consolidated value of the project portfolio at each biennial forum session and present a curated portfolio of agreed, investment-ready projects prepared for private and blended finance, with a clear timeline tracking the number of projects that achieve financial closure and reporting on them at each forum.
It also decided to launch a continental facility for SMEs and value chains by the Coordinating African Union Summit in 2027, and to report on the number of supported enterprises and jobs created, disaggregated by youth and women, at each subsequent session of the Alexandria Africa Forum.
The declaration pointed to the activation of at least one African risk mitigation and blended finance instrument, led by Africans, within 18 months, including risk mitigation and project preparation facilities based on commitments such as those of the Alliance of African Multilateral Financial Institutions.
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