Accra Financing For Development Conference Ends
His Excellency President J.A. Kufuor, President of the Republic of Ghana and Chairman of the African Union has noted that continental and regional projects, well studied and invested along business lines with reasonable attractive rate of returns for investors are what Africa needs to launch itself into sustainable development and reduce poverty.
“It is clear that if countries of the third world were to proceed individually to mobilize such resources, not much can be achieved fast enough to overcome their poverty.”
President Kufuor said this whiles closing the Accra Financing for Development Conference in Accra.
The conference under the theme “infrastructure for growth; the Energy Challenge” had brought together Finance and Energy ministers from across Africa and the donor community together to deliberate on financing options to meet the energy challenge.
Citing the INGA Hydro project on the Congo River, President Kufour said this project if executed has the potential to generate enough power to the entire continent and even to southern Europe adding that for many low income countries on the continent, especially the non-oil producing ones, this is a project that offers the greatest hope of coming by energy for development.
Therefore, conferences such as this should play an advocacy role in the world’s financial markets, to assist in developing bankable projects that at the same time help to launch it on a trajectory of sustained accelerated growth to enable it achieve the Millennium Development Goals in many of its component nations.
He called on all the multi-lateral organizations, donor and creditor communities and member nations of Africa participating in this conference to go with a spirit of optimism that Africa can succeed : that with the partnership Africa is seeking, it shall succeed and must therefore be supported” he added.
In a 16 point communiqué, delegates said multilateral and bilateral development partners should support national priorities and development plans for energy, review existing sectoral priorities in their cooperation with developing countries.
They also urged development partners to develop new funding instruments and mechanisms for trans¬boundary energy projects.
END
