The UN chief was speaking at the opening of the Africa Forward summit, which was co-hosted by Kenyan President William Ruto and French President Emmanuel Macron in Nairobi.
“The name of this summit reflects the moment – and the mission,” He Said. “Africa is not waiting. Africa is moving forward. Africa is leading.”
to debate, to find solutions
Mr Guterres highlighted how Africa is driving the debate over reform of global financial institutions, which were “designed in 1945 for a world that no longer exists.”
He credited the continent’s leading role in other areas, including getting agreement for the future Approved, creating new tools for loan negotiation and challenging the credit rating system.
African leadership also helped secure sevilla commitment Expanding lending by multilateral development banks and small island states puts the climate emergency “at the center of the global agenda,” he said.
“This is not a continent waiting for solutions. This is the continent that produces them,” He said. “But let’s be honest about what stands in Africa’s way.”
old injustices persist
The Secretary-General pointed to “a global system designed without Africa – and still functioning largely without Africa, which perpetuates centuries-old injustices”.
Despite being home to more than 1.5 billion people, Africa has no permanent seat in the United Nations security council And decision-making power within the international financial institutions that shape its economy is limited.
“It is not Africa that loses. It is the world itself that loses by the fact that the voice of Africa is simply not taken into account,” He said.
‘Crisis of solidarity’
Meanwhile, official development assistance (ODA) is declining and aid budgets are being cut when needs are at their highest, representing “not only a financing crisis” but also a “crisis of solidarity”, he warned.
Citing climate change, he stressed that although “Africa did not cause it”, the continent is suffering the harshest consequences such as displaced communities, food insecurity and economic shocks.
“Africa must be at the center of climate justice,The Secretary-General said, noting that even though the continent has 60 percent of the world’s best solar capacity, it receives only two percent of overall clean energy investments.
“With the right finance, Africa could generate ten times the electricity it needs by 2040 – entirely from renewable energy. Yet, 600 million Africans live without electricity.”
Furthermore, one billion people there still depend on unclean cooking fuels, which is responsible for approximately 800,000 deaths annually, mostly women and children.
‘No more exploitation’
Africa also has vast reserves of critical minerals needed for the global transition to “green” energy, but for too long its “resources have been extracted, the value taken elsewhere, leaving environmental damage behind,” he said.
In this regard, the UN Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals points the way to promoting fair value chains, in-country processing and manufacturing, and other actions that benefit communities.
“No more exploitation. No more looting,” He said. “African people should benefit first and foremost from Africa’s resources.”
Africa Kenya Youth participate in a program to eradicate FGM (female genital mutilation).
Partnership and investment
The Secretary-General also stressed the need for international partnerships with Africa that are “based on equality, complementarity and mutual benefit.”
He called for co-investment in industry, strengthening universities and research institutes, and capacity building in artificial intelligence (AI), thus shaping the technology using data, languages, researchers and systems – all African-owned.
power of youth
The UN chief also focused on Africa’s growing youth population.
“The biggest change this century isn’t a market – it’s a generation,By the middle of the century, he said, one in four people worldwide will be African.
“The success of the continent is not in the interest of Africa alone – it is in the interest of the world,” the Secretary-General concluded his remarks.
“Let us together move Africa forward – with faith in its people, in solidarity with its journey and with hope for our shared future.“
