Kuwait reaffirms commitment to supporting development in Africa and strengthening international partnerships to achieve development goals
Diplomatic Attaché Yousef Al-Mansour reaffirmed Kuwait's commitment to supporting development in Africa and strengthening international partnerships to achieve the objectives of the African Union's Agenda 2063, speaking before the UN.
Translated by Qiyas from كونا — Original source
New York, October 13 (KUNA) -- Kuwait reaffirmed its commitment to continuing its support for development in Africa and strengthening international partnerships to achieve the objectives of the African Union’s Agenda 2063. This was stated in Kuwait’s address, delivered by Diplomatic Attaché Yousef Al-Mansour on Monday evening before the United Nations General Assembly during its discussion of the item on progress in implementing sustainable development in Africa, international support, causes of conflict, and the promotion of lasting peace on the continent.
Al-Mansour said that the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development constitute two complementary frameworks for eradicating poverty, reducing inequalities, and enhancing the resilience of African communities. He emphasized that peace and development are interlinked and cannot be achieved in isolation from one another.
He referred to the “Silencing the Guns in Africa” initiative as one of the efforts aimed at consolidating peace and creating conducive conditions for development. Al-Mansour noted that the activities of the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development have extended to approximately 96 percent of the continent through loans, grants, and development contributions covering infrastructure, energy, water, transport, and essential services.
He recalled the Arab-African Summit hosted by Kuwait in 2013, which saw the launch of several development initiatives, most notably the Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Sumait Prize for African Development, worth one million dollars annually, alongside the announcement of providing concessional loans to African countries worth one billion dollars through the Kuwait Fund, and an initiative to invest and guarantee an additional one billion dollars in cooperation with international institutions.
He stressed the importance of addressing the development financing gap, the growing debt burden, and the economic impacts of climate change and armed conflicts, while enhancing access to concessional financing and mobilizing long-term investments to support the development priorities of African countries.
He underscored the importance of strengthening cooperation between the African Union and the United Nations, and expanding Arab-African partnerships in the fields of renewable energy, food security, digital transformation, and education, while affirming African ownership and leadership of development priorities and programs, and building the capacities of youth.
Al-Mansour concluded his address by reiterating Kuwait’s steadfast support for the peoples of the African continent and its continued humanitarian and development assistance, contributing to the achievement of sustainable development and the consolidation of peace and stability. (End) A.S.T
