Abidjan: Africa, the world's youngest continent with vast natural resources, is poised to achieve the African Union's Agenda 2063 if the right public policies are implemented, as affirmed by government officials and development experts.
According to African Press Organization, this shared conviction was expressed on Monday during the 2025 Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank Group in Abidjan, C´te d'Ivoire, under the theme "Making Africa's Capital Work Better for Africa's Development."
At a knowledge event titled "Second Ten-Year Implementation Plan for Agenda 2063: An Opportunity to Develop and Finance Africa's Capital," Koffi N'Guessan, Ivorian Minister of Vocational Training and Apprenticeships, reaffirmed that Agenda 2063, adopted in January 2015 by the African Union, remains the strategic framework for the continent's economic and social transformation. The second implementation plan, adopted in February 2024, offers a crucial opportunity to tackle these challenges and accelerate development outcomes.
The Ivorian Minister emphasized Africa's potential to become a major global power alongside China and India, citing its demographic potential. However, he stressed the importance of prioritizing vocational and technical training to fully harness this demographic dividend. He highlighted a concerning trend where approximately 22.5 percent of young people aged 15 to 24 are unemployed without education or training. Additionally, 250 million children and young people in low-income countries are not in school, indicating a disconnect between education systems and labor market needs. He warned that youth could become a liability if robust training policies are not implemented from nursery school through to university.
Herv© Lohou¨s, Division Manager in the Country Economics Department at the African Development Bank, highlighted the importance of natural wealth in calculating African countries' GDP. He noted that the GDP of a country like the Central African Republic would increase by 300 percent if natural resources were included in the GDP calculation. He emphasized the need to go beyond natural enhancement and ensure that all African countries adopt a compulsory development plan. He also called for governments to provide incentives for transformation while considering accountability to aid the transition from natural to social infrastructure.
Jide Okeke, Regional Program Coordinator for Africa at the United Nations Development Programme, and Dagmawit Moges Bekele, former Eritrean Minister of Transport and Director of the Peace Fund at the African Union Commission, both underscored the need to leverage human, financial, natural, and digital resources to drive inclusive and sustainable development. This approach is deemed crucial to achieving the objectives outlined in the second decade of Agenda 2063.