African Union: Mauritius welcomes African Economic Platform

Mauritius will host the inaugural meeting of the African Economic Platform (AEP) from 20 to 22 March 2017 at the Westin Turtle Bay Hotel in Balaclava. Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth will launch the forum, which will enable constructive dialogue among stakeholders on common themes for Africa and influence continental policy by engaging directly with leaders on issues of mutual interest.

The Heads of State of the following countries are expected to attend the conference: Guinea, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Kenya, Madagascar and Comoros. As for Tanzania, Namibia and Swaziland, they will be represented by their respective Prime Ministers.

Organized on the initiative of the African Union (AU), the AEP will institutionalize a new annual platform for African leaders to establish a dialogue between African political leaders, business leaders in the private sector, universities and intellectuals.

Several plenary sessions are planned over the two days. The President of the Republic, Dr. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, will act as moderator during the session focusing on empowering young people with regard to employment, innovation and entrepreneurship. Other sessions will focus on the competitiveness of the private sector in Africa and the removal of barriers to communication and movement of goods, people and services.

The EAP is an initiative to provide Africans with political space in various sectors, to define their own agenda and to explore realistic opportunities and options for the continent and the world. It will be part of the implementation of the AU Agenda 2063 and other progressive decisions and programs to promote the integration and development of Africa.

The Mauritius meeting will also serve as a lobby and instrument for influencing the agenda of the AU Summit and other global summits on African integration and development. The EAP will also enable stakeholders to work with African leaders to remove political barriers to African business, increase the attractiveness of Africa’s investments, implement economic diversification and industrialization strategies, and mobilize Domestic and other resources.

Another objective of the platform is to harness the potential of the African diaspora for the continent’s integration and development and to encourage AU mobilization of national resources to support priority actions, as established by the EAP under the auspices of Agenda 2063.