BY Wasilat Azeez
Mauritius, an East African country, is set to host the 2022 African economic conference (AEC).
The conference is a forum for discussing the continent’s emerging challenges and opportunities and is jointly hosted by the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Themed ‘supporting climate-smart development in Africa’, the event is scheduled to hold in a hybrid format, with in-person delegates gathering in the coastal city of Balaclava, north-west of Mauritius, from December 9 to December 11, 2022.
According to a statement issued by the organisers on Monday, Renganaden Padayachy, the country’s minister of finance, economic planning and development, announced the event at a press conference last week.
Addressing the theme of AEC 2022, Padayachy referenced the World Risk Report 2021 which described Africa as the most vulnerable continent to climate disasters and Mauritius, as highly exposed to the impacts.
The minister said the government is highly committed to accelerating the country’s green transformation process, aiming to generate 60 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2030.
“Sustainable growth and inclusive development do involve a cleaner, greener, and more climate resilient economy,” he said.
In his remarks, Kennedy Mbekeani, deputy director-general for southern Africa, AfDB, commended the government of Mauritius for agreeing to host the 2022 African economic conference.
“Water supplies and food production might be hampered by changing weather patterns. Africa’s most vulnerable regions are also among its most fragile due to their dependence on unimproved commodities and lack of economic variety,” Mbekeani said.
According to Mbekeani, creating climate-smart policies could become a driver of development across Africa, and investments in building resilience to climate change could have wider economic and social benefits.
Meanwhile, attendees at the press conference were Tony Muhumuza, UNDP’s senior economist for Mauritius and Seychelles; Eric Ogunleye, the advisor to African Development Bank’s chief economist and vice-president; Adeleke Salami, the bank’s AEC task manager; and other senior government officials, including Vish Soondram, deputy financial secretary at the ministry of finance, economic planning and development.
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