The #UNHub at Expo 2020 Dubai’s Mission Possible – The Opportunity Pavilion featured an exhibition showcasing the significance and ongoing refurbishment plans of the iconic Africa Hall in Ethiopia’s capital city Addis Ababa.
Titled ‘Africa Hall, at the Origin of the UN in Africa with a Look to the Future,’ the exhibition highlights Africa Hall as a historical landmark, as well as the permanent headquarters of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).
Africa Hall is a momentous edifice in the continent’s history, donated to the UN by former Ethiopian ruler Emperor Haile Selassie, with a vision of attracting the organisation to Africa and uniting African nations.
The Hall was inaugurated in 1961 as the permanent seat of ECA and has hosted a number of important meetings in the history of Pan-Africanism, including the liberation of Africa from colonialism. The charter of the Organisation of African Unity – now the African Union – was signed at Africa Hall in 1963 between 36 heads of African states.
Africa Hall’s historical significance showcased at Expo 2020
Au, EU step up digital cooperation following Summit
Digital cooperation is a cornerstone of the Africa-EU strategic partnership. This was underlined by representatives from the European Union and the African Union on the 18th of March 2022 at the Africa-Europe Digital for Development (D4D) Hub Multi-Stakeholder Forum. The event, which took place virtually, was co-hosted by the African Union Commission and the European Commission with the aim of promoting exchanges and collaboration with enterprises, civil society organisations, and experts in the digital field.
Dr Amani Abou-Zeid, AU Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy, commented “the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of digital technologies to keep our businesses, healthcare, education and public services running. These exceptional times have also shown the urgency to invest in Africa’s digital infrastructure and build on Africa’s innovation potential.”
IFC, African and European Partners launch alliance to support private sector growth in Africa
To support a stronger private sector, entrepreneurship and the growth of small and medium-sized businesses across Africa, African, European, multilateral and bilateral partners today launched the Alliance for Entrepreneurship in Africa (AforE).
The Alliance will combine and focus the technical and financial strengths of its members to improve Africa’s business environment and support the growth and success of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), women in business and young entrepreneurs. In addition to its core members, the Alliance aims to bring together multilateral and bilateral development banks, bilateral donors and African national development banks.
The Alliance was first announced at the Summit on Financing of African Economies in Paris in May 2021.
Alliance core members include the African Development Bank (AfDB); the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD); the European Investment Bank (EIB); the European Development Finance Institutions (EDFI); the French Treasury; the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Proparco, the private sector financing arm of Agence Française de Développement Group (AFD Group).
UNCTAD estimates global economic growth will decrease in 2022
The UN’s trade and development body UNCTAD has downgraded its global economic growth projection for 2022 due to shocks from the Ukraine war and changes in macroeconomic policies that put developing countries particularly at risk.
Significant slowdowns in growth are expected in parts of Western Europe and Central, South and South-East Asia, a new UNCTAD report says.
The ongoing war in Ukraine is likely to reinforce the monetary tightening trend in advanced countries following similar moves that began in late 2021.
UNCTAD is worried that a combination of weakening global demand, insufficient policy coordination at the international level and elevated debt burdens from the pandemic will push some developing countries into a downward spiral of insolvency, recession and arrested development.
