The African Development Bank (AfDB), the United Nations and the African Union (AU) on Saturday acknowledged the significant progress that had been made on the implementation of Agenda 2063 across the continent.

The entities, at the weekend, released the first report on the implementation of Agenda 2063, which assessed the progress of Africa’s development between 2013 and 2019.

While the continent had made remarkable progress, it still had a long way to go to reach its development targets, said Côte d’Ivoire President Alassane Ouattara, while Ethiopian President Sahle-Work Zewde said greater cohesion and hard work were needed to achieve the “Africa of our dream”. 

The event was also attended by Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi, who observed that the achievement of Agenda 2063 clearly required ownership at the country and regional levels.

“The alignment of the agenda into the planning of countries, with a focus on linkages and impact, will ensure greater results,” he stated.

Former AU chairperson and South African Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said the beauty of Agenda 2063 was in learning from each other.

“For example, we can learn from what Ghana is doing with its recently launched Year of Return initiative, which encourages African diasporans to come to Africa to settle and invest in the continent,” she commented.

The AU in January 2013 adopted Agenda 2063 as a blueprint for sustainable development and economic growth. It outlines a set of goals, priority areas and targets that Africa aims to achieve at national, regional and continental levels.

AfDB president Akinwumi Adesina during the report launch called on heads of State to push for the continent’s pension and sovereign wealth funds to contribute to domestic prosperity.

He said sovereign funds of Africa were invested elsewhere and it needs to be invested back into Africa, while the continent also needs to do more to stop illicit capital flows.