- Your Excellency and our interim Chair Ilyas Moussa Dawaleh, Minister of Economy and Finance, Republic of Djibouti
- Excellency Ahmed Shide, Minister of Finance, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
- Mr. Julius Muia, Permanent Secretary, National Treasury, Government of Kenya;
o The ne incoming minister of Finance, Dr. Njuguna Ndung’u is sitting in as an observer
- Excellency Dr. Elmi Mohamud Nur, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Federal Republic of Somalia
- Excellency Dr. Dier Tong Ngor, Minister of Finance & Planning, Republic of South Sudan
- My Dear Sister and IGAD partner Jütta Urpilainen, EU Commissioner for International Partnerships
- My dear sister Marie-Laure Akin-Olugbade, Acting Vice President, African Development Bank
- Distinguished Participants, Ladies and Gentlemen.
On my behalf and that of the IGAD Secretariat, it is my pleasure honour to once again address this eminent gathering only 106 days after our last Ministerial Roundtable Meeting of this Horn of Africa Initiative in June 2022.
This very short interval between our discussions demonstrates our shared commitment to the development agenda for the IGAD region and maintains the momentum we have built to drive positive transformation in the Greater Horn of Africa.
In this regard, I will join us all in congratulating His Excellency, Dr. Elmi Mohamud Nur, on his appointment as the Minister of Finance of the
Federal Republic of Somalia and welcome him to serve in this distinguished company as we collectively pursue our intentions to make life better for the communities’ resident in our corner of the world.
Our meeting today is yet another opportunity for us to reflect on our shared initiative and contribute and to the continuous dialogue on matters of shared concern including; the world economic outlook, infrastructure development, poverty eradication, economic development and aid effectiveness.
Development Context in the Horn of Africa – (Upon Invitation)
1. With regard to Peace & Security
The Peace and Security situation in the IGAD region is remains fluid and share the concerns of the regional and international community regarding the situations in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia as well as the Republic of Sudan.
On the positive side, we are pleased that in both instances, IGAD has contributed to the progress towards establishing dialogue which we trust will serve as a basis for a resolution of disputes and a foundation for continued development.
On Sudan: IGAD is working actively through our special envoy to revive the progression towards a civilian transition through the IGAD Trilateral Mechanism for Intra-Sudanese in coordination with the African Union, UNMISS and UNITAMS.
On South Sudan: IGAD was delighted to observe the first stage of the necessary unification of forces in August this year and we continue to call upon all parties to respect the terms of the peace agreement and implement it fully, faithfully and in a timely fashion.
IGAD however remains concerned by the decision of the United States legislature to reduce available resources for conflict monitoring, prevention and evaluation of the peace agreement in South Sudan just when we are recording remarkable progress.
On Ethiopia: IGAD remains deeply engaged in quiet diplomacy in an anticipation of the peace talks.
On Somalia: IGAD continues to condemn the violence meted out by the al-Shabaab terrorist group and looks forward to continuing to work on behalf of communities with the federal government.
We call upon the friends of Somalia in the international community to support the recovery of Somalia and extend all resources for its resilience, reconstruction and restoration.
At this juncture, I would like to appreciate the strong support of the leadership of IGAD Member States as well as our multilateral partners in the AU, the EU, the UN; and bilateral actors such as the Troika countries in our efforts as IGAD to restore peace, security and stability as necessary pre-conditions for development and regional integration.
2. With Regard to Drought, Food Insecurity & Impact of Ukraine Conflict
1 week ago, I had the opportunity to address a ministerial meeting on the critical drought situation in our region.
I highlighted that although the IGAD region hosts less than 0.04% of the global population, we account for nearly 22% of the global number of food insecure people.
As we speak, over 51 million IGAD Citizens or almost 1 in 5 (20%) of our population is estimated to be highly food insecure across 7 out of the 8 IGAD member states, including nearly 388,000 of our people who are at-risk of dying of hunger.
In addition, according to the latest report by save the children, Sudan, South Sudan and Somalia remain on the top 10 list of countries whose education systems are at extreme risk of collapse
I further underscore that the conflict in Ukraine has forced our people is driving both food insecurity and inflation in our region with households now spending up to 90% of available income on food alone.
In take this opportunity to once again emphasise that we needed to everything in our power to prevent this food crisis evolving into a political crisis especially considering the high numbers of our unemployed youth.
IGAD welcomes the 19 projects whose funds have been disbursed by the world bank under this initiative and looks forward to the rolling out of the groundwater for resilience project.
Furthermore, IGAD recognises the 11 projects approved by the African Development Bank which represent a significant addition to improving the food nutrition security, transport and energy situation in our region.
The complementarity of the additional 26 projects funded by the European Union on economic corridors, trade, digitalisation food security and community resilience are set to be a game-changer.
Altogether, these resources will be essential to finance the necessary interventions that will cushion and build the resilience of IGAD states and societies in the short term, and minimise vulnerability to shocks over the long term.
Statement on the theme of the 14th HoAI Meeting
IGAD appreciates the holistic approach to regional development and integration as reflected in the 4 pillars of this initiative.
Indeed, the focus of this meeting on trade facilitation expressed in the priority projects within Pillar 2 on Promoting economic and trade integration is expected to serve as an effective antidote to economic nationalism. IGAD supports and complements the efforts of this initiative to improve food security trade and build resilience for at-risk communities.
IGAD’s mandate since inception in 1986 has been to respond to climate-related disasters especially on drought with a specific focus on coordinating policies, legislation, procedures and standards among our Member States.
Regarding our joint priorities in the coming months, IGAD is inspired by the efforts of Horn of Africa Initiative to sow the seeds of solidarity among the countries of our region.
I further propose that building and strengthening coordination and partnerships for humanitarian action and strengthening of community resilience to disasters as a key consideration of this convention.
In Conclusion Excellencies,
On behalf of IGAD reiterate the call for the admission of the Republic of Uganda and the Republic of Sudan into this initiative which remains a critical gap in firming up and delivering regional cohesion.
Finally, I reaffirm IGAD’s unflinching commitment to contribute in a tangible and significant way to improving food security, deepening economic integration and building community resilience in the greater horn of Africa.
I thank you Excellencies.
Download the attached Speech in PDF below
ES Statement 14th Ministerial Roundtable Meeting of the Horn of Africa Initiative13.10.2022
