Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi said that support directed to development efforts in Africa is much less than its actual needs, as evidenced by African countries’ poor access to coronavirus vaccines.
Sisi made the remarks on Tuesday during his participation at the Summit on Financing African Economies in Paris.
In his speech, the president called on the international community to provide the necessary support needed by African states to counter the coronavirus pandemic, said Presidential Spokesman Bassam Rady.
The attendees at the summit agreed on the importance of crystalizing a joint vision to back African countries in this health crisis, through allocating resources from the private sector and launching initiatives to maximize the concessional financing available to the continent, the spokesman added.
The summit is part of French President Emmanuel Macron’s efforts to recas France’s engagement in Africa.
During the summit, agreement was reached on the importance of crystallising a common vision to support the African continent during the coronavirus pandemic, including by allocating resources from the private sector and launching initiatives to maximise the financing to the continent through international development institutions and donors at the bilateral level.
This also includes accelerating the production of medical technologies related to the combating the pandemic such as vaccines, tests and work to ensure the equitable distribution of vaccines in the continent.
The participants also agreed on need to discuss economic reforms in support of the sustainable growth of African countries, including financing small and medium-sized enterprises, creating investment friendly climate, tax administration and support for entrepreneurship.
“We’re gathered here to reverse what has developed as a very dangerous divergence between advanced economies and developing countries, especially (in) Africa,” International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Kristalina Georgieva said in opening remarks.
The summit brings together some 30 African and European heads of state, as well as some European leaders and high-level representatives from the UK, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and the heads of global financial institutions like the IMF and World Bank.
