The founding members of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) have agreed to reposition the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) as a stronger, more flexible and better-funded institution capable of accelerating development across the continent.
The commitment was made in the Alamein Declaration, adopted by the leaders of Algeria, Egypt, Nigeria, Senegal and South Africa at Alamein- Africa Forum. The meeting marked 25 years since the launch of NEPAD and reviewed the agency’s role in advancing Africa’s development agenda.
The founding states reaffirmed their commitment to an integrated, prosperous, peaceful and self-reliant Africa, driven by its people and supported by stronger partnerships between governments, the private sector, regional economic communities and international partners.
They stressed that AUDA-NEPAD must have greater institutional effectiveness, operational independence and predictable funding to fulfil its mandate. They also expressed concern over declining financial contributions from African member states to the agency’s programme budget, warning that this was affecting its ability to deliver effectively.
The declaration called for additional financial resources and more stable core funding for AUDA-NEPAD, including voluntary contributions from member states.
It also welcomed growing interest among countries in hosting AUDA-NEPAD offices at their own expense and encouraged the agency to expand its presence across the continent.
The leaders placed particular emphasis on mobilising African private capital and strengthening the role of businesses, small and medium-sized enterprises, women and young people in driving innovation, job creation, industrialisation and regional value chains.
They welcomed the launch of the Alamein Africa Forum as a permanent biennial platform in Egypt aimed at strengthening public-private co-operation and mobilising private African capital to support the African Union’s Agenda 2063.
As part of the declaration, the leaders agreed to establish an Alamein Investment Platform by the February 2027 AU summit to consolidate private capital commitments and investment pledges emerging from the forum.
They also called for a pipeline of investment-ready flagship projects, the launch of a continental SME and value-chain facility by mid-2027, and the activation within 18 months of at least one African-led risk-mitigation and blended-finance instrument.
The declaration reaffirmed Agenda 2063 as the continent’s roadmap for inclusive growth, structural transformation, industrialisation, regional integration and human-capital development.
The leaders also pledged to hold summits of NEPAD’s founding members periodically and adopted the Alamein Declaration as their collective political framework for repositioning AUDA-NEPAD and accelerating Africa-wide transformation.
