Two Years After the Pact for the Future: Progress on Implementation, Challenges and Opportunities for Africa

of state and government or their representatives, honorable ministers, the deputy chair of the African Union Commission, the undersecretary general, your excellencies, the representatives of civil society and youth, ladies and gentlemen, I welcome you all to this high-level side event entitled "Two years after the Pact for the Future: Progress on the Implementation, Challenges and Opportunities for Africa." Two years ago today, exactly on the 22nd September 2024, the General Assembly adopted the Pact for the Future, With the Global Digital Compact and the Declaration for the Future Generation, Africa helped shape the pack. As a result, our continental will be a key test of its credibility. This event today is co-hosted by Namibia, Zambia, the African Union, the Executive Office of the United Nations Secretary General, the Economic Commission for Africa, and the Office of the Special Adviser on Africa. And the purpose is to take stock of the implementation in two areas of priority for Africa, which is youth empowerment and financing for development, while we also know that In Africa, peace and stability is a prerequisite for development. We have a very full program, and we would want to give a chance to as many people as possible, so our interventions will be limited to three minutes, with the exception of those who are going to participate in the opening session. And as a president and co-facilitator of the Pack for the Future and chair for this meeting, I ask you that you allow me to make my introductory statement. After welcoming you all and having explained the purpose of our meeting, Your Excellencies, once again, thank you for honoring our invitation to participate in this historical side event on assessing progress made in the implementation of the Pact for the Future in Africa. African countries were instrumental in the adoption of the landmark Pact for the Future and its two annexes, namely the Global Digital Compact and the Declaration on the Future Generation. And I thank you as co-facilitator for your unequivocal support during the negotiation leading to its adoption. Our continued collective leadership towards the implementation of the Pact for the Future remains critical to ensure that Africa maximizes benefit from the most wide-ranging international agreement in years as we accelerate the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Considering the over 90% convergence between the SDG and the AU Agenda 2063 and the role of the PAC in turbulent changing SDG implementation. The PAC aligns with Africa Agenda 2063. And this presenting an opportunity to advance the continent's developmental priority as it also focus on peace, stability, inclusive growth, and digital transformation. We all recall when we were developing Agenda 2063, the aim is to make sure that by the year 2063, our continent has become an industrialized continent. And these are some of the instruments we can make use for us to realize that goal. As co-chair for this, we are delighted to have the Republic of Zambia and Jamaica in our midst as they played a key role as co-facilitators for their respective annexes on digital compact and declaration on the future generation. With regard to the digital transformation at the national level, Namibia, in July 2025, launched the National Digital Strategy 2025-2028, designed to empower Namibians to thrive in the digital arena. The strategy invests a sustainable digital ecosystem that strategically enhances innovation to drive national development and inclusive growth. The national digital strategy also address cybersecurity and digital trust, emerging technology, including artificial intelligence, and women and youth participation in the digital economy. Our youth remains the hope and the strength of our continent. African youth make over 60% of the continent's population In some countries, even over 70%. And by 2050, one out of every fourth person in the world is expected to be African, according to the data from the African Development Bank. The strong focus of the Pact for the Future on youth and future generations should inspire us all to continue strengthening our policies and programs to empower our children and youth to safeguard their livelihood. When I took office in Namibia as the fifth president, one of our priority area is youth empowerment. And the Namibian government has established free tertiary education, which include tuition fees and registration fees. following decades of free primary and secondary education. This is aimed to develop the necessary skills for our young people to participate in our developmental agenda. We also established a national youth development fund to support young entrepreneurs with the necessary resources to promote business development and further tackle youth unemployment. We are already seeing tangible fruits from this investment, and much of the resources come through strong domestic resource mobilization initiative, including through improved governance structure of taxes, as outlined in our developmental agenda. However, at least financial flow still remains a challenge for Namibia and our continent at large. and our collective voices as Africa must be ever strong in order to accelerate the reform of the international financial architecture as agreed in the Pact for the Future and subsequent sovereign commitment. Africa must be fully engaged in the negotiations towards a UN framework convention on international tax cooperation in order to create a just and effective international tax system for sustainable development. Africa, we are not asking for free money. Africa, we want fairness. We want justice for us to develop. As individual African countries and as collective, our responsibility is to take ownership of our developmental efforts. Our citizens are looking at us, the leaders, to make effective and bold decisions for their prosperity and advancement. The Pact for the Future gives us additional tool with which we can further achieve our noble aspiration. I once again welcome you and I thank you for listening to these introductory remarks. We now proceed to our agenda as we have it before us. The next I will invite is Zambia, who is the co-facilitator in the Global Digital Compact and is very committed I'm now inviting Honorable Haimba, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Republic of Zambia. You have four minutes.

Thank you. Your Excellency, Netumbo Nandi Ndeitwa, President of Namibia, Your Excellencies, Heads of State and Government here present, and representatives of Heads of State and Government, distinguished delegates. The adoption of the Pact for the Future two years ago reflects our collective commitment to multilateralism. Its significance lies in its breadth, touching virtually every facet of international cooperation and all three pillars of the United Nations. That is, peace and security, development, and human rights. That commitment is needed even more today. And the pact has not stood still. The adoption of the Seville Commitment demonstrated that multilateralism can move from political commitment towards concrete action. As Zambia had the privilege of co-facilitating both the Global Digital Compact and the Seville Commitment adopted at the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, allow me to focus on these two dimensions. First, the Global Digital Compact. Distinguished delegates, your excellencies, artificial intelligence offers extraordinary possibilities for development, but its capabilities are advancing faster than our capacity to govern them. Our task is to harness its benefits while managing its risks. The GDC is already moving into implementation through the independent international scientific panel on AI and the global dialogue on AI governance. But governance must not go, must, beg pardon, go hand in hand with access. With only 36% of Africa's population online, the first gateway to AI is connectivity. Africa therefore needs investment in digital infrastructure, computing capacity and skills to participate, not merely as a consumer, but as a shaper of emerging technologies. Zambia remains committed to this agenda through our digital transformation and our advocacy, including inclusive of AI and capacity building. Second, Financing for development. The pact called for reform of the international financial architecture. The Seville commitment carries this forward through calls for action on debt, the cost of capital, affordable long-term finance, voice and representation, domestic resource mobilization, and investment. For Africa, These reforms determine our capacity to invest in infrastructure, education, health, jobs, and economic transformation. Zambia is committed to implementation, including through strengthening domestic resource mobilization and better aligning planning, public resources, and investment with our development priorities. The pact amidst the UN80 reforms. Excellencies, as attention turns to UN80 and the future configuration of the United Nations, we must guard the pact using prominence in our collective agenda. Many of the solutions we are searching for on development, financing, technology, peace and security, human rights, and the renewal of multilateralism are already reflected in the pact. The pact should not become a casualty of the reform conversation. It should help to guide it. The pact was our collective commitment. Its implementation is our collective responsibility. Thank you very much for your kind attention.

Thank you very much, Zambia. In organizing this event, we have invited the chairpersons of the different economic commission. And the program we are having, we are to have the opening, which is to have speeches, and then the high-level segment, where we will then invite the speakers from the economic commission. However, I will use the chair, Gaval, because the chairperson of ECOWAS, who's the president of Senegal, he's in the room and has booked another engagement at 1:50. So can I give the floor, Your Excellency, the president of Senegal, as the president of ECOWAS, to take the floor, and then we come back to the program. You have the floor, Your Excellency, President.

Madam President, I would, as I commence speaking, to welcome the convening of this meeting, looking at the implementation of the Pact for the Future for Africa. And may I also take this opportunity to voice my thanks to the organizers, the Republic of Namibia, with Madame Nantomba Monet Bove, the Economic Commission for Africa of the UN, the Cabinet of the Secretary General of the United Nations, and the Bureau of the Special Africa Office. Madame Special Advisor, when we look at the needs and concerns of Africa, we have to recognize things and give them their proper weight. On the 22nd of September 2024, the Summit for the Future concluded with the adoption by consensus of the Pact, showing our shared desire to look at a more inclusive, effective, multilateralism better able to meet the challenges of the future. When it comes to matters of sustainable development, peace and international security, science, technology, innovation, young people, the changing of world governance, the Pact for the Future embraces a large gamut of issues, focusing both the attention of states and those of international organizations and civil society. Despite the many disruptions affecting the world, we see many areas affected by economic and financial disruption, climate change, geopolitical events, migration, Faced with all of these issues, ours is a responsibility to implement solutions able to deal with these. Here, by means of the Pact for the Future, the international community established a clear framework which it is now up to us to implement. Madam President, Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, despite the progress that has been achieved, African states are still facing These are curbing their economic development. And this is shown inter alia by the lack of infrastructure, underindustrialization, the difficulty of obtaining funding to meet the needs, the debt burden and unemployment. Against this backdrop, it is vital to find viable solutions that can enable us to overcome these difficulties. When it comes here, funding for development is center stage. We have to pay particular attention to this and renew our commitment as the international community. At less than four years away from the deadline, sustainable development is affected by a debt in funding of 4 billion American dollars being the estimate here. And here we have a cut in public development aid, 23.3% in 2024. There's also a drop in foreign investment. Hence, developing countries, including the African continent, as seeing that their budgetary room for maneuver is curtailed. They have to seek debt financing on international markets at particularly unfavorable conditions. Often, here we see a vicious circle as a result of these constraints. The majority of financial resources go to servicing debt. with disproportionate effects in key sectors such as education, health and infrastructure. When we look at these facts, it is vital for Africa to become a partner for the Global South look at the reform of the world, a global financial architecture, in order to improve countries' and continents' roles in international organizations, including decision-making bodies. We need to mobilize financial resources to a greater degree to drive forward a fairer and more equitable international financial system. Here, in looking at the framework program of the UN on international cooperation in matters pertaining to taxation, this is being negotiated, and it is of great importance. We hope that the African zone of free exchange will play a greater role as a catalyst in the process of development and catalyzation of Africa. reducing fragmentation of markets and stimulating growth. As the President in office of the West African state Senegal, we spare no effort to help the African continent to benefit from the Pact for the Future for the good of our continent and our young people and for the hopes and aspirations of all. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much, Your Excellency. Now, as I'm inviting Your Excellency Selma Hadid, Deputy Chair of the African Union Commission, I also want to welcome in the room His Excellency, the President of Kenya, who is representing COMESA. You have the floor, four minutes, the secretariat is helping me. to control the four minutes because we want everybody to take the floor.

Your Excellency, Dr. Ntombu Nandi Ndaitwa, President of the Republic of Namibia, Your Excellencies, Heads of States and Government, Honorable Malumu Aimbey, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Republic of Zambia, Honorable Ministers, distinguished leaders of regional economic communities, Distinguished members here in the high table, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, all protocols observed. It is an honor to address this high-level side event on behalf of His Excellency, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, the chairperson of the African Union Commission, who conveys his warm greetings and best wishes for this event. I wish to express the African Union Commission's deep appreciation to Her Excellency President Nandintwa and the government of the Republic of Namibia and to the government of the Republic of Zambia. Namibia's co-facilitation of the Pact of the Future and Zambia's co-facilitation of the Global Digital Compact stand among the clearest expressions of Africa's leadership in shaping these agreements, and it is fitting that they should convene this reflection on their implementation. Two years ago today, the General Assembly adopted the Pact for the Future, and in 2028, the Assembly will review its implementation. At this midpoint, our task is to establish where implementation is taking hold and where it must be accelerated. For the African Union, the most meaningful test is structural. It is whether the Pact's commitments are changing the way Africa finances its development and whether the economy that this finance builds offers young Africans a growing share of its opportunities. Excellencies, the Pact of the Future was a much-needed reaffirmation of commitment to international cooperation. It was, and I quote, "a pledge for a new beginning in multilateralism to deliver a better future for people and planet." End of quote. Negotiations birthed a list of 56 actions that we have agreed to collectively prioritize. There is no doubt that some progress has been made, particularly several institutional processes that can pave the way for the implementation of the Pact have seen some movement. Shortly after the adoption of the Pact, the Seville Commitment carried the financing agenda of the Pact forward. Efforts to develop measures of progress that complement or go beyond GDP are underway, with the establishment of the UN Secretary-General's High-Level Expert Group on Beyond GDP just a few months ago, which was followed by the first informal intergovernmental consultations. Monitoring mechanisms for the implementation of the Global Digital Compact are also now in place, and the reforms of the United Nations were set in motion. As a continent, we have also progressed in delivering some objectives. We have brought electricity to 50 million more Africans in the last two years. We have expanded policy coverage on issues related to the eradication of all forms of violence and harassment against all women and girls. We have showcased our long-standing commitment to tackling climate change, and this despite our concerns about limited means of implementation. The Africa 2035 digital implementation roadmap presented this year by the Economic Commission for Africa is an important step in I will summarize. A direct expression of the pact's commitment have now reached draft text. While the pact for the future has generated important political momentum and has contributed to the development of new implementation mechanisms across a number of areas, its implementation to date has not yet fully matched the breadth and ambition of the commitments undertaken by member states. And this is in several areas. Sorry.

Summarize.

I'm summarizing. There are several areas that I think all of us know that still need that we work together, both in the implementation of the Pact of the Future, Agenda 2063, and Agenda 30. But in general, as an African Union, our task is to continue to be active participants in shaping the multilateral system. not by sitting at the table, but by shaping the very agenda being discussed at the table and by continuing to uphold the principles of the pact sought to affirm. And, Excellency, under your guidance, this conversation that we are having today, I think, is here to reaffirm that commitment. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much. I now give the floor to the Under-Secretary-General for Policy, in the executive office of the Secretary General, please, four minutes, because we have a time limit. There's a certain period that we are in this room, so that we give space for another event, and we want more people to take the floor. So you have the floor.

Thank you. Your Excellency, Dr. Netumbo Nandi-Ndumwa, President of the Republic of Namibia. Heads of State and Government present, Excellencies, Ministers, fellow panellists, let me thank Namibia and Zambia, together with the African Union, the Economic Commission for Africa and the UN Office for the Special Adviser on Africa, for bringing us together today for this important dialogue. It is two years ago to the day that, because of the decisive intervention of the African group that the General Assembly, under an African President, adopted by consensus the Pact for the Future that Africa had played a key role in framing, not least through the facilitation and leadership of Namibia and Zambia. This, then, is a pact in large measure by Africa, but a pact for Africa, because, as you have reminded us, Madam President, This Pact resonates very strongly with the AU Agenda 2063. We, of course, have turned our attention from adoption to implementation. And two years on, we have a record of achievement to show in four areas that I want to reflect upon. On peace and security, the Secretary-General has recently presented his review on the future of UN peace operations. now before the General Assembly and the Security Council. And the review was underpinned by extensive consultations, including with African stakeholders, to capture their views on current challenges and to ensure that UN peace operations adapt to the evolving realities on the ground. The emphasis is on prevention and on peacemaking. and the partnership between the African Union and the United Nations will remain central to our ongoing efforts. On the digital agenda, as we have heard, the Global Digital Compact has given a new framework for inclusive international cooperation on artificial intelligence in particular. The Independent International Scientific Panel on AI has issued its preliminary report, findings that the capacities and benefits of AI remain concentrated in only a handful of countries and companies. The fact that eight of the AI panel's 40 members are from Africa offers us hope for improvement. The panel promotes our shared understanding of the risks, impact, and opportunities of artificial intelligence. and it must also close the knowledge asymmetries across regions and countries. The first global dialogue on AI governance was convened in July of this year. And there, representatives reiterated that the future of AI depends on sustained investment in capacity building and strong evidence base rooted in national and cultural contexts. On the key issue of financing for development, Member states are building on the Seville commitment, and Africa has been central to this effort. Ahead of the launch of the Borrower's Platform first annual cycle in October, Egypt serves as interim chair of its steering committee, helping us to establish the platform's working modalities. And earlier this year, ECOSOC convened its first ever special meeting on credit ratings bringing together major credit rating agencies and the African peer review mechanism. On youth and future generations, work is underway to translate 2027 SDG Summit, Member States will consider how to advance sustainable development by 2030 and beyond, as requested by the Pact. And at the outset of the 83rd session of the General Assembly, Heads of State and Government will convene for the mandated overall review of the Pact. Our hope in closing, Madam President, is that Africa and all Member States will accelerate progress ahead of these reviews, identifying exactly where more effort is needed and charting the way forward as envisioned by the pact. Africa was decisive in securing the pact, and Africa's continued leadership will be decisive in delivering it. I thank you, Madam.

Thank you very much. And we are in the UN, where we are all extremely busy. I am going again to the high-level segment. And I am giving the floor to His Excellency President Ruto of Kenya for COMESA, because he has also another meeting coming up in 20 minutes or so, I'm told. So you have the floor, Your Excellency, President.

On behalf of COMESA and the 21 countries that we represent, we want to commend Namibia and Zambia and the Africa Union Commission, including the Economic Commission for Africa, for convening us. There are two fundamental issues that inform this conversation. First, we are participating in a conversation that we formulated. The pact for the future was not imposed on us; we developed it together. There are two fundamental issues that inform our debate. The first is young people. How do we position young people How do we leverage on the expertise, the energy, the talents of the young people going into the future, and how will they be involved? And secondly, is on a financial architecture that supports the development of the young people and the development of our region. I associate myself with the sentiments already expressed by the speakers before me, but I want to say three final suggestions by way of how do we move this forward. Number one is the road to the future. I am suggesting that on the road to 2028 review, I propose three actions. First, let Africa table one consolidated implementation report prepared jointly by the Economic Commission for Africa and the Africa Union so that our progress is assessed against common evidence. I think that will give us a mechanism that will backstop our progress. Are we making progress? Is it measurable? Do we have evidence? I think that that would go a long way. Number two is we should conclude the framework convention of 2027 on time and with the ambition that brought us to the negotiating table in the first place. That framework is significant because it will be the framework upon which we will be measured and progress will be measured going into the future. And finally, let the 2028 review to the reform of the international financial architecture. There is a very robust conversation on what is the position of many countries, especially emerging economies and developing countries, access to resources, risk sharing instruments. How are we using guarantees better so that we can leverage on access to concessional financing that ultimately speaks to the principles for which we are pushing the pact for the future. I think with these three, we will be on the way to having a credible assessment on how we go into the future. Finally, let me make the final statement. Two years ago, Africa helped to shape this pact. Today, we ask Our task is to turn its promises into results. Results for our young people, results in the financing of our development, and results that Africans can see and feel in their own lives. Africa helped shape the pact for the future. Now let us help make its future real. Those are my comments, Madam Chair. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much, Your Excellency, President. We now proceed to listen to Mr. Clive Gatete, Under-Secretary-General and the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.

Your Excellency, Dr. Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, President of the Republic of Namibia, and our Chair, Your Excellencies, the Heads of State and Government, Honorable Mirambo Haimbe, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Zambia, colleagues on the high table, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, honorable ministers, I thank the government of Namibia and Zambia, the African Union, and our United Nations partners for joining ECA in organizing this important discussion. Two years ago, world leaders adopted the Pact for the Future, together with the Global Digital Compact and the Declaration on Future Generations. I believe two years is enough time for us to rethink how we accelerate implementation and make the Pact for the Future work even better for Africa and our people. Across our continent, I have met young entrepreneurs able to build digital services for millions, but unable to secure affordable capital. I have engaged with finance officials facing difficult choices between servicing debt and funding schools, power, and health. And I have met farmers who need climate information, irrigation, insurance, and access to markets. So when we talk about accelerating implementation, this is where it must make a difference. And that's why the Pact for the Future must work alongside the priorities Africa has already set through Agenda 2063 the 2030 Agenda and the African Continental Free Trade Area. Excellencies, we need to connect the commitments, the national plans, budgets, investment and implementation. The Pact for the Future contains 56 actions. We should be able to map them against Africa's priorities, identify where the gaps remain and determine what still needs to be financed. But alignment alone will not be enough. Africa must also come to the table with investable programs, not simply a list of needs. ECA remains committed to work with the African Union Commission, the African Development Bank, member states, and other partners to help develop programs that advance Africa's priorities. We also need a practical way of tracking whether these commitments are delivering. That's why the ECA is proposing an annual Africa-focused dashboard linking the commitments, the Pact for the Future, to Agenda 2063, the SDGs and national priorities, and tracking where progress is being made, where gaps remain, and what still needs to be financed. Because ultimately, success will not be measured by the number of meetings we hold. but by whether jobs are being created, business costs are falling, connectivity is expanding, and lives are improving. But we also constraints holding us back. Many of our countries continue to carry debt that crowds out development, while the high cost of capital limits the investment we need for infrastructure, businesses, and jobs. We need a global financial architecture that responds better to Africa's development needs and supports long-term investment. And Africa needs a stronger voice in the institutions shaping decisions on finance, taxation, technology, and global peace and security, including a Security Council that reflects the world of today. Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, the Pact for the Future also asks us to think about generations that will inherit the decisions that we make today. Africa has the world's youngest population, as mentioned. Our young people cannot be spectators in decisions about their future. They must have a meaningful role in shaping our policies, investments, and development priorities. So as we look at the next phase of implementation, I believe our focus should be on three things. First, connecting the Pact for the Future more closely to Africa's priorities, national plans, and budgets. Second, mobilizing financing at the scale required to accelerate growth, build infrastructure, and create jobs for our young people. And finally, measuring results openly so that we know where progress is being made and where we need to do more. At the Economic Commission for Africa, we will continue working with our partners and member states to help connect global commitments to Africa's priorities and support implementation at scale. Excellencies, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, the starting point to finance our development is domestic resource mobilization and Africa resource mobilization. We have to lead by example and cannot afford to remain where we are today at 16% tax to GDP ratio, which is the lowest anywhere in the whole world. For example, compared to the European Union, it's at 34%. And that's where history will not ask how eloquently we describe the future. It will ask whether we financed it, whether we made global institutions more representative, and whether we delivered it in the lives of our own people. I thank you very much for your kind attention.

Thank you very much. Now we have less than 30 minutes to be in this room. And we are now formally moving to the high-level segment, where I would ask that member states who want to take the floor, they can indicate through them by pressing the mic. But definitely not all of us will be able to take the floor, because we have also the partners who are to make the remarks. Now, I now give the floor to the Vice President of Uganda, Republic of Uganda, who is also representing the EAC. You have the floor, Madam.

President of the Republic of Namibia, Excellencies, Heads of State, distinguished delegates, I bring you warm greetings from your brother, His Excellency Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, President of the Republic of Uganda. Two years ago, the United Nations adopted the Pact for the Future and its annexes, the Digital Global Compact and the Declaration on the Future Generations, thereby affirming the commitment by the international community to effectively address present and future global challenges collectively. The African Union and the United Nations have a long-standing partnership in the implementation of the multilateral commitments, including the pact as it is with the African Union Blueprint Agenda 2063. Uganda welcomes the emphasis placed on the Africa strategic priorities by the Pact, namely peace and security, particularly the reform of the United Nations Security Council, accelerating the achievement of sustainable development goals, reform of the international financial architecture to better support developing countries, ensuring secure and inclusive development of science, technology and innovation, and empowering the youth. Galvanizing the means of implementation for the Pact for the Future is key to advancing the 56 core actions across these five pillars. Excellencies, Africa has the world's youngest population. To tap this demographic dividend and secure future generations, the implementation of the Pact is central to unlocking meaningful commitments to investments in education, technology and skills development for quality jobs and digital expansion. Developing countries continue to encounter numerous challenges that have slowed the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The critical one is the limited fiscal space and increasing debt pressure. Many of our countries spend a sizable share of our revenues on paying off debt than spend investing in critical infrastructure and public services. In this respect, we call for urgent reform of the international financial institutions to grant developing countries a strong voice in decision-making. Taxation remains an important instrument for mobilizing domestic resources to support economic growth.

The four minutes are over.

And I now, I'm very sorry because of the time, I'm now giving the floor to the Prime Minister for Cape Verde.

Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Netumbo Nandi-Ndoutwa. Excellencies, allow me to start by expressing my appreciation towards Namibia, Zambia, the African Union, the Executive Office of the Secretary General, and the Office of the Special Advisor for Africa for convening this timely discussion. I reaffirm CAFR's unwavering commitment to the Pact for the Future and its full implementation, underlining that Africa was instrumental in shaping the Pact and must remain at the forefront of translating its commitments into concrete actions. It was underlining that implementing means investing in people, especially youth, the continent's greatest asset. Empowering young people through quality education, skills, digital inclusion, entrepreneurship, and decent jobs is essential for peace, prosperity, and sustainable development. I would like to also underline that financing remains the main challenge. There is an urgent need to strengthen the civil commitment if the A reform of the international financial architecture, increased access to affordable and concessional financing, effective debt solutions, stronger domestic resource mobilization, including through the United Nations Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation to combat illicit financial flows and ensure fair taxation. African small island Developing states are particularly vulnerable. Climate change, biodiversity loss and ocean degradation threaten developing gains, making climate finance, adaptation support and resilience building indispensable for the successful implementation of the Compact. Technology and digital transformation must be inclusive and capable of bridging the digital divide, supporting capacity building and innovation across Africa. The implementation of the Compact must reinforce the 2063 agenda and 2030 agenda and the African Union's aspiration for a peaceful, integrated, prosperous and resilient continent. Finally, I conclude with a call for solidarity and great international cooperation emphasizing that the credibility of the pact for the future will be measured not by its ambition, but by its implementation. Africa stands ready to lead while waiting for the international community to deliver on its commitments. Thank you.

Thank you very much. I have the list here, but the secretariat helped me. so that I will have 12 minutes at the end to give to our partners as they are listed in this document. I now give the floor to Egypt.

Excellency, Dr. Nandi Ndadawa.

And now from here.

Okay.

Secretariat is now three minutes, we are no more on four minutes. Help me for that. You have the floor.

Thank you, Excellency. Excellency, ladies and gentlemen, distinguished colleagues, in 2050, 25% of the global population will be African. By 2030, around 42% of all global youth population will be African, a continent already with over 400 million persons between the age of 15 to 35. Simple numbers and figures that speak without any qualifiers about the significance and imperative of a better future for Africa. With this backdrop and with unwavering faith in multilateralism, Egypt lent its strong support to the Pact for the Future. The Pact is a signal of joint commitment at a moment of anxiety and receding trust. A forward-looking thinking that guides the international community towards the future we want, upholding the purpose and principles of the Charter, turbocharging the implementation of the SDGs, empowering our Africa Agenda 2063, giving a sense of purpose to UN80, pivoting towards modernized governance that functions in tandem and complementarity. We are thankful to the two co-facilitators, Germany and Namibia, and particularly proud that Africa was best represented by Namibia. I want to highlight few telegraphic messages on the current state of implementation. The 2028 high-level review of the overall implementation of the Pact provides an opportunity for a meaningful assessment and should not be dealt with a procedural checkbox. It needs to benefit from early planning and streamlining, as well as follow-up action across existing processes, including its own products, such as the AI Global Dialogue. Two, the pact implementation and the UN system as a whole needs to continue to prioritize responding to Africa's development needs. Egypt has taken a leading role, chairing the Intergovernmental Negotiation Committee on the UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation to reshape the international tax discussion through a win-win approach. Egypt, within the momentum of implementing the CVA finance for development commitments, has also pioneered with like-minded developing countries, the borrowers platform, with the aim to foster South-South cooperation. Third, it is in this connection also that Egypt hosted a series of informal dialogues that brought representatives of the United Nations operational agencies together with key financial partners and a number of program countries to discuss the follow-up of the new funding compact agreed through the Pact for the Future. African issues. account for more than 70% of the Security Council agenda, and several African countries are still in a state of...

Thank you very much, Egypt. I now give the floor to South Africa, Sadak. Three minutes.

Thank you very much, Your Excellency, President Netumbo Naidoo. At the outset, allow me to commend the conveners for bringing us together to reflect on the implementation of the Pact of the Future and what it means for Africa as we look forward to the 2028 review. As the chair of the Southern African Development Community, South Africa shares the belief that youth empowerment and financing for development are key priorities for our region and our continent. At its core, the Pact for the Future is an affirmation of our shared responsibility to future generations. Critical minerals beneficiation at source in the African continent can play a key role of industrializing our continent and harnessing the energy of our young people. Similarly, the young people of our continent should be at the center of artificial intelligence research and innovation. The commitments contained in the pact should therefore translate into quality educations, skills, access to decent work, entrepreneurship, and meaningful participation in public life. For SADC, investing in youth is an investment in social cohesion, economic transformation, and a shared prosperity. The ambitions of the Pact for the Future, including our commitment to youth, cannot be realized without adequate financing for development. To achieve the SDGs by 2030, Africa needs to close the annual financing gap of 1.3 trillion US dollars. Countries of the Global South face increased pressure on public finance, high borrowing costs, and the growing climate-related financial needs. These challenges directly affect our ability to invest in infrastructure, artificial intelligence, human capital, and productive capacity. This picture explains why the PEX call to reform the global financial architecture resonates with us. South Africa's G20 presidency call for greater debt transparency and accountability from the credit rating agencies and supported the establishment of a borrower's stop to amplify the collective voice of indebted nations. We attach special importance to the civil commitments and to the ongoing efforts to strengthen international tax cooperation. The negotiations for the UN framework convention on international tax cooperation present a unique opportunity to support domestic resource mobilization and address challenges arising from the international tax system. Strengthening our capacity to mobilize resources for development is essential to developing on the priorities contained in the Pact of the Future. I thank you.

I now give the floor to Djibouti, Igat. Djibouti, manage the time also. Good example is set.

Thank you, Madam President of the Republic of Namibia. and gentlemen heads of government ministers on behalf of IGAD and his acting chair his Excellency President Gelle allow me to express my sincere gratitude to the Republic of Namibia, the Republic of Zambia, the African Union, the Economic Commission for Africa, and the United Nations for organizing this very important meeting two years after the adoption of the Pact for the Future. The time has come to answer a simple but decisive question: have we transformed our commitments into concrete changes in the lives of our people for Africa, this question cannot have a credible answer unless it deals with a fundamental reality. Our continent already has its vision, its priorities, and its roadmap. This vision is the 2063 agenda of the African Union. The 2063 agenda expresses the ambition of an Africa that is integrated, prosperous, peaceful, resilient, and fully in charge of its future. An Africa that values, that develops its resources, invests in its youth, its industrialization and its immense human potential the pact for the future should not be a substitute for this African vision it should quite to the contrary be a lever it should contribute to bringing international pledges closer to priorities defined by Africans our collective responsibilities to ensure a complete coherence between the 2016 agenda the Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Pact for the Future. We must avoid fragmentation of initiative, too many mechanisms and fragmentation of our efforts. Ladies and gentlemen, Africa has its own vision, the 2063 Agenda, and the Pact for the Future should help us implement it. The Republic of Djibouti endorses the proposals issued by this August Assembly for the implementation of the Pact for the Future for Africa. Thank you very much for your attention.

The time, I think now we have a long list, but now I want to move to the partners, and if time allows, I can come back to the list. Under our partners, we have the Permanent Representative of Jamaica to the United Nations, who I now give the chair as Jamaica was a co-facilitator for the Declaration of the Future Generations. Jamaica, you have the floor. Three minutes.

Thank you very much, Madam President, Excellencies. I am very pleased to join you for this high-level side event. We were very pleased to have co-facilitated the Declaration on Future Generations alongside the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and we continue to play a leadership role in advocating for its implementation post-adoption. The DFG holds special relevance for Africa, not only because of its transformational potential, but also because the concept of intergenerational fairness and equity is deeply rooted in traditional African knowledge systems. The idea that current generations bear a responsibility to those not yet born is therefore not unprecedented. Rather, it finds renewed importance and focus in the milestone consensual adoption of the DFG. The declaration provides a clear, concise and actionable framework for embedding futures thinking into all levels of decision making. By adopting the DFG by consensus, member states committed to using strategic foresight, data, statistics and science to improve policy making and invest in capacity to better prepare for and respond to global shocks and crises. It covers a wide range of persistent challenges. that are especially relevant for developing countries, including peace and security, migration, demographic shifts, harnessing the benefits of new and emerging technologies, strengthening resilient health systems, eradicating poverty, and advancing sustainable development. Jamaica's advocacy around the DFG stems from our belief in the immense potential it holds in driving positive change. As a practical way to advance this agenda, we established a group of friends for future generations last year, which we co-chair with the Kingdom of the Netherlands. This Group of Friends serves as a platform for Member States, futures practitioners, civil society partners, academia, and other like-minded stakeholders to share knowledge and best practices regarding implementation of the declaration. It maintains a cross-regional core group of Member States, including Kenya and several African nations. A number of countries across the continent are making leaps in DFG implementation. Kenya's Senate Futures Caucus is but one example of how long-term policymaking can be put into practice and adapted to address the most pressing needs of individual countries. The African Union's Agenda 2063 also shares alignment with several of the DFG's benchmarks, including on debt sustainability, youth employment and empowerment, and climate resilience. Africa, therefore, has a critical opportunity to demonstrate in real and practical terms the true value of the DFG in advancing the long-term ambitions. In closing, Madam President, I leave you with a well-known African proverb: "We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children." Let us continue to work together to ensure that those who follow us will be better off than we are today. I thank you.

Thank you very much, Jamaica. I now invite the Director for Sustainable Policy Coordination, International Partnership, European Commission.

Thank you, Excellencies, distinguished ladies and gentlemen. Partnerships are a strategic choice for Europe, but they also must change and adapt to the geopolitical reality. For some, the answer is to go it alone. But this is not Europe's choice. Europe will always lead when it comes to defending the rules-based system. The European Union is a strong supporter of the United Nations. The European Union and its member states collectively are the single largest financial contributor to the UN system. We support the UN Secretary General in its reform agenda And we are ready to work closely with all partners in this regard, including through the implementation of the Pact for the Future, to make the United Nations more effective, cost-efficient, and responsive, and better able to deliver for the people it serves. Through the Pact, we have committed to reforming the international financial architecture and addressing cross-cutting issues such as human rights, gender, equality, and climate action. By providing artificial intelligence governance in the Global Digital Compact and involving youth in multilateral decision-making in the Declaration of Future Generations, we have opted for a multilateral system that is more inclusive and better equipped to tackle today's challenges. The Pact remains important political capital for the reform of multilateralism. However, tangible results are vital for the Pact's credibility. The European Union is actively backing key UN processes that take forward the pact, such as the Financing for Development Conference, the World Social Summit, the Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries, the Oceans Conference, and the UNCTAD Ministerial. Achieving the SDGs is a top priority for the European Union. Through the Global Gateway strategy, the European Union contributes to finance SDG implementation including 150 billion euro of investment under the Global Gateway Africa-Europe investment package for shared priorities such as infrastructure, renewable energy, and digital connectivity. Regarding youth and intergenerational fairness, the European Union is acting at home and abroad. The EU invests in young people beyond Europe. One example is the Team Europe initiative investing in young business in Africa with nearly 7 billion euro. We stand ready to continue our collaboration with the UN, the African Union, development partners, and civil society to turn these commitments into reality and sustain momentum in the run-up to the.

African Development Group.

Thank you very much, Madam President and your excellencies, honorable ministers, distinguished ladies and gentlemen. On behalf of Dr. Sidi Ould Ta, the President of the African Development Bank Group, I wish to congratulate the governments of Namibia and Zambia, the African Union, and all our United Nations partners for convening this timely meeting. Two years after the Pact for the Future, we are here to assess whether global commitments are beginning to translate into tangible progress for Africa in terms of jobs, in terms of dignity, resilience, technology, opportunity, especially for our young people, our greatest assets. provided that these young people can access quality skills and energy, finance, technology, and markets to fulfill their aspiration. From the bank's perspective, the pact directly speaks to the agenda for transformation and what is needed to power the economies, to connect the markets, to mobilize finance, and also to prepare the young people to lead. At the African Development Bank, the strategic thrust that we are using at the moment is articulated around four cardinal points. The first one is mobilizing capital. The second one is strengthening Africa's financial sovereignty. The third one is transforming youth and women into a demographic dividend. And lastly, we need to continue to build resilient infrastructure that adds value and that is fully aligned with this ambition. These priorities are about one practical outcome, which is really creating jobs, expanding opportunities, and building a future that African young people can believe in. And this is why the African Development Bank places youth at the center of everything implementation, through skills, development, entrepreneurship, innovation, digital access, and flagship initiative, such as the Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Bank and Coding for Employment. Our objective is very simple. We need to move young people from aspiration to employment, to enterprise, and to leadership. We are also advancing a number of flagship initiative. I think we are all beginning to know about the Mission 300 that is expanding energy access across the continent. We are working on regional corridors that not just connect markets, but accelerate the promise of AfCFTA, a fully integrated continent. and NAFAD, the New African Financial Architecture for Development.

Thank you very much. The time is over. Yes, time is over. And we are now listening to the voice of the youth. Diallo, the representative of the Pan-African Youth Union, who share the youth perspective on the subject, Meta, three minutes.

Thank you, thank you, His Excellency.

Thank you very much, Your Excellency, Zain Diala. I'm the President of the European Pan-African Youth Union. I should like to thank you for giving me the floor and to say that the Pact for the Future is very important instrument when we consider the social and political changes underway and also on the international scene. I would say that this pact puts first young people and that if this pact is to be achieved, it will enable Africa to have a well-educated youth, one that is capable of taking in charge the future of the continent. So the vital question today is, what are the challenges in the future, the situations that affect the implementation of this pact? I would like to ask international organizations and governments to work harder on appropriating, on ownership of this instrument, because disseminating this pact will make it possible for the various partners to be aware of it and to become involved in implementing it. Today, We cannot talk of implementing this pact without talking of the real active role of young people. Young people have to play an important role to implement this pact. So therefore, I would appeal to you to look very piercingly at education, vocational training for young people, because if we're talking about the future, we're talking of young people young people who are well equipped, who are able to take charge of their future, and who can pick up the challenges of the future. Thank you.

Thank you very much also for time keeping. I now give the floor to the executive director of the Center for Global South Initiative in Development. You have the floor. Madam, okay.

Thank you, Your Excellency. Excellencies, I stand on established protocol on behalf of civil society, which continues to push for the implementation of the Pact's 56 action points, the Declaration on Future Generations, and the Global Digital Compact in an integrated way, rather than checklist for national domestication of commitments, and also rather than a New York-led diplomacy process. Focus should be on two issues. One, support for deeper UN-AU cooperation, and two, the pledge for reform in peace operations. On the priority areas of youth and financing for development, The participation of youth must be accompanied by investment that is demonstrable, that will demonstrably move from symbolic inclusion towards concrete, clear pathways of skills, jobs, financing, digital literacy, entrepreneurship, and access to financing for youth. The finance for development and tax cooperation remains critical. The UN framework convention of international tax cooperation is the most consequential deliverable connected to the pact and must be gender responsive in its taxation matters. becoming progressive towards action to end illicit financial flows and lead us towards climate justice. I propose four ideas for follow-up. One, institutionalize civil society monitoring beyond token consultation so as to embrace the evidence that sits with civil society around implementation gaps. on how to hold governments accountable. Number two, the national domestication of the pact must be a priority. Number three, there needs to be coherence in reporting rather than a parallel track and must be integrated with other processes such as the HLPF and the AU human rights framework. Regional aggregation mechanisms convened by the ECA need to turn to continental commitments need to turn continental commitments into regional positions ahead of 2028. And fourth, there needs to be a direct link between financing for development and PAC credibility so that tax conventions progress become a bellwether for whether the PAC's development chapter was real or rhetoric. The opportunities sit in digital readiness to protect Africa's digital commons so that digital skilling and the rising concern...

Thank you very much.

45 all the mics will go off. So before I make my concluding remarks, I want to invite the Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser on Africa to deliver some remarks.

Thank you, with respect to Madam President, the Chair, co-facilitators, all protocol observed, excellencies. Closing is the privilege of listening, and there is much to reflect on what has been said in this room for the past hour plus. We have heard the speakers frame the two-year mark, not as an audit, but as a call to sharpen our common work. We have heard speakers make the case for youth empowerment, for the reform of the international financial architecture, and for the framework convention on international tax cooperation as one agenda that travels together. And we have heard, Diala, the Pan-African Youth Union and colleagues from civil society speak for those on whose behalf the pact was written in the first place. So let me close by pulling these threads into three propositions for the road to the 2028 review. First, the pact does not implement itself. Its implementation depends on political choices that will be made in national capitals, in this House, and in the boardrooms of international financial institutions. The direction set by the statements we have heard is clear. Youth empowerment, financing for development, and the tax convention travel on one track together. Second, Africa is the co-author of the pact and increasingly the driver of its most consequential work streams. The framework convention on tax cooperation began in the Africa group and closed its fifth negotiation session in this building last month with concrete draft text on the table. The reparation agenda has moved through this assembly in the past year on African leadership. The continental positioning on digital sovereignty is shaping the global debate. This is a continent at the forefront of implementation, and the language that we use about it should reflect that. Third, if the pact fails to reach the young woman in Kano running a solar cooperative, the mayor of a coastal city in Mozambique preparing for the next storm, and the finance minister who is right now paying more to service their debt than to build schools, then it will have failed on the measures that matter. As the Office for the Special Advisor on Africa, we will do three things between now and 2028 review. We will keep the analytical work honest. We will convene the partners within and beyond the United Nations who can move from practice, and we will keep the amplification going. We will beat the African drum until everyone hears it. Excellencies, the measure of the next two years will be whether we can look the young person sitting there in the eyes at the 2028 review and tell them that we did what we said we would do. I thank you.

Thank you very much. I can see there was great interest in this discussion, and I think next time we might try to get more time because it's a very important subject for us in Africa. Now, if I have to sum up on the issues that we have discussed on the youth empowerment and the future generation, we all underline the importance of investing in and empowering on young people as driver for innovation, leadership and sustainable development, while expanding access to education, skills, employment and meaningful participation in decision making for the current and future generation. And then on the issue of financing for development, We talked about the need to mobilize greater and better quality financing, strengthen domestic resource mobilization, attract investment, and ensure the international financial architecture supports Africa's national development priorities in line with our commitments and, of course, the Ceville commitment. And we should not forget Agenda 2063. On the constraints we face, that include financing debt, digital readiness, IA governance, institutional capacity, and climate resilience. And the discussion highlighted the interconnected complexity of those challenges and the need for integrated approach and the strengthens the resilience well-exploring development outcome. As we are preparing for the 2028, the integrated report has come out clear that we need that. On where the UN system and partners can add value, support for capacity building, policy advice, knowledge sharing, inclusive partnership, building data and digital transformation. And this has to be driven by the Africans themselves. When that support is coming, we must set the agenda ourselves so that it can be helpful to us. So by and large, we say the two years after the adoption of the Pact for the Future, Our discussion today really reminds us that the real measures of success lies on the implementation, and we have to prepare ourselves and to make a serious assessment of the challenge we are facing and how we are going to overcome them. So I would therefore once again thank all of you for your participation. And we are saying next time we should try to have more time so that