Highlights and images for 18 May 2017

Ethiopia

Summary

The third session of the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD 3) convened for its second day in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 18 May 2017, and for the first day of ARFSD 3’s plenary meetings. Delegates heard opening statements and took part in a high-level panel on the challenges and opportunities in achieving inclusive growth and prosperity. Messages emerging from this session included: the need for increased gender sensitivity; the importance of education for sustainable development; that data is essential to monitor progress in implementation; and, the role regional economic communities play in implementation of the SDGs. They also elected the Bureau for the 2017 session and adopted the agenda.

In the afternoon, delegates heard updates on progress in implementation of the SDGs and the goals of African Union Commission (AUC) Agenda 2063. They also heard a presentation on the framework for monitoring and reporting on the implementation of the two Agendas prepared by the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the AUC. Delegates then took part in a round table on peer learning and the exchange of experience and lessons learned in the implementation of the two Agendas. They also heard a presentation from Parfait Eloundou-Enyegue, Cornell University, US, on how a demographic perspective can inform poverty reduction strategies. Issues raised during this session included: the important role national plans and programmes play for the implementation of the SDGs and the AUC Agenda 2063; harmonized monitoring frameworks; and, government-civil society partnerships for implementation of the two Agendas.

Delegates attended a reception hosted by UNECA in the evening.

IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB+ Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web coverage and a summary report from this meeting. The summary is now available in HTML and PDF.

Photos by IISD/ENB | Francis Dejon
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A bird's eye view of the opening plenary of the third Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development

Nehal Magdy Ahmed El Megharbel, Deputy Minister for Planning, Monitoring, and Administrative Reform, Egypt

Fatima Denton, Director, Special Initiatives Division, UNECA

Anthony Mothae Maruping, Commissioner for Economic Affairs, AUC

Seleshi Bekele, Minister of Water, Irrigation and Electricity, Ethiopia

Abdalla Hamdok, Acting Executive Secretary, UNECA

L-R: Ben Paul Mungyereza, Executive Director, Uganda Bureau of Statistics; Mutuuzo Peace Regis, Minister of State for Gender, Labour and Social Development, Uganda; Amedi Camara, Minister for Environment and Sustainable Development, Mauritania; Anthony Mothae Maruping, Commissioner for Economic Affairs, AUC; Rosalie Matondo, Minister of Forest Economy, Sustainable Development and Environment, Republic of Congo; Nehal Magdy Ahmed El Megharbel, Deputy Minister for Planning, Monitoring, and Administrative Reform, Egypt; Seleshi Bekele, Minister of Water, Irrigation and Electricity, Ethiopia; Nyasha Chikwinya, Minister of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development, Zimbabwe; and María Jesús Ncara Owono Mze, Vice Minister for Education and Science, Equatorial Guinea

Amedi Camara, Minister for Environment and Sustainable Development, Mauritania

Nyasha Chikwinya, Minister of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development, Zimbabwe

Rosalie Matondo, Minister of Forest Economy, Sustainable Development and Environment, Republic of Congo

Christo Janse van Noordwyk, South Africa

Margaret Oduk, UN Environment

L-R: Fatima Denton, UNECA; Nassim
Oulmane
, Chief of Green Economy and Natural Resources Section, UNECA; and Nehal Magdy Ahmed El Megharbel, Deputy Minister for Planning, Monitoring, and Administrative Reform, Egypt

Participants from the Southern Africa sub-region in a huddle to consult on their nomination to the Bureau

L-R: Boutobba Afef, Algeria; Rosalie Matondo, Minister of Forest Economy, Sustainable Development and Environment, Republic of Congo; Marie-Josée Bonne, Seychelles; Nassim
Oulmane
, UNECA; Meatchi Tchaou Gervais, Togo; and Nyasha Chikwinya, Minister of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development, Zimbabwe

Negussie Gorfe, UNECA

Bartholomew Armah, UNECA

Hussein Abaza, Egypt

Moubarack Lo, Senegal

Parfait Eloundou-Enyegue, Cornell University, US

Kayode Obasa, Nigeria

Belay Begashaw, Director-General, Sustainable Development Goals Center for Africa

Isaac Yamaude, Kenya

Alex Richard Nkosi, African Regional Organization of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC-Africa), Togo, speaking on behalf of the Major Groups and other Stakeholders

2017 Bureau Chair Meatchi Tchaou Gervais, Togo

Photos from the reception hosted by UNECA

Participants

Negotiating blocs
African Union