President,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States. The candidate countries North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Bosnia and Herzegovina[1], as well as Armenia, align themselves with this statement.

The European Union is strongly attached to its partnership with Africa. We look forward to further reinforcing relations and expanding cooperation in all its dimensions at the upcoming EU-African Union Summit in 2025. It will mark 25 years since the beginning of our partnership in Cairo, in 2000.

President-elect von der Leyen’s political orientations for the next European Commission 2024-2029 already stress the importance to create a new momentum in our partnership with Africa, including through EU Global Gateway investments. Actionable solutions and investment opportunities were discussed with UNIDO, the African Union and African partners last week during the Africa Industrialisation Day in Brussels.

UNIDO plays a vital role in advancing our shared objectives, particularly to accelerate Africa's industrialisation. This is crucial to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, reduce poverty, increase food security, and create jobs, particularly for youth and women. Africa has enormous potential for industrialisation and with UNIDO’s support, we can successfully promote economic diversification, develop essential infrastructure, and enhance skills that lead to decent employment.

For decades, the EU has partnered with UNIDO, African countries, and regional and continental organisations to drive Africa’s development. The EU is the largest contributor to UNIDO’s technical cooperation portfolio in Africa for 2017-2023. In 2024, 60% of the EU’s voluntary contributions to UNIDO – worth 216 million EUR – are supporting projects in Africa, aligned with national, regional and continental strategies, and Programmes for Country Partnerships (PCP).

The EU supports UNIDO’s programmes that create decent jobs in productive sectors by aligning skills with investment and trade opportunities, building sustainable supply chains and promoting compliance with international norms and standards. These programmes also support the circular economy and sustainable energy consumption, integrating African economies into regional and global markets through inclusive, environmentally responsible, and resilient growth.

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) represents  an unprecedented achievement towards realising Africa’s full economic potential and integration. The EU supports this initiative with a 205 million EUR contribution to the “Trade, Competitiveness and Market Access” (ATCMA) programme, which will be implemented by UNIDO and the International Trade Centre in Geneva. This programme will enhance the competitiveness of African SMEs and their access to regional and European Union markets. Additionally, Team Europe recently pledged 1.1 billion EUR to advance African economic integration under the AfCFTA framework.

Furthermore, in collaboration with UNIDO, the EU and Egypt recently launched a project to support trade, industry, growth and rapid market access (TIGARA). An 8 million EUR initiative to bolster the industrial policy framework, upgrade critical infrastructure and enhance SME competitiveness.

Also this year, the EU and UNIDO initiated two projects in Nigeria advancing agro-industry power and circular economy practices, with a combined 9 million EUR investment.

President,

These examples demonstrate that the EU remains firmly committed to taking forward our partnership with Africa, as called for in the Pact for the Future.

UNIDO has been instrumental in advancing the Third Industrial Development Decade for Africa, fostering partnerships, coordinating various initiatives and delivering impactful projects. We look forward to the upcoming discussions on a Fourth Industrial Development Decade for Africa. We will remain at Africa’s side in this joint undertaking.

I thank you for your attention.

[1] North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.