Mr Said Adejumobi, Director, Strategic Planning, Oversight and Results Division, (SPORD), Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) says the Joint Inter-governmental Committee of Senior Officials and Experts (ICSOE), will engender accelerated development across the continent. He said the value proposition of the joint inter-governmental committees was expected to promote economic liberalisation, and intra-African trade and strengthen political integration. Mr Adejumobi disclosed these to the Ghana News Agency on the sidelines of the Adhoc expert group meeting. The meeting, on the theme: ‘Transition to Renewable Resources for Energy and Food Security in North and West Africa,’ preceded the second Joint Inter-governmental ICSOE for North and West Africa in Accra from November 1-3. Mr Adejuno said the meetings aimed to cross-fertilize strategic development ideas based on capacity and open avenues for collaboration in furtherance of the ideals of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) as well as regional goals. The ECA makes key recommendations for member states, through research and other strategies to bring regional and global perspectives and commitments as a way forward. The ECA’s regional offices are piloting joint ICSOE among its five Regional Economic Communities (RECs) North Africa with West Africa; Central Africa with East Africa and South Africa. Mr Adejumobi said next year, 2024, which would be the third pilot phase of the Joint Inter-governmental Committee of Senior Officials and Experts would be expected to elicit policy review, credibility, and re-alignment of ICSOE in terms of results and outcomes. He said the zeal for the joint sessions is overwhelming as the continent is desirous of bringing the necessary development closer to the people leveraging on energy, food security and value chains. On the practicality of ICSOE, he said Morocco and Egypt were resilient in infrastructural development including road construction, explaining that Ghana could do business with those countries rather than over-reliance on China. He said Ghana’s cocoa bean could also be processed within and in Morocco or South Africa for a win-win situation in an intra-African trade and commerce initiative. Participants examined the impact of climate change in both sub-regions, discussed practical measures for countries to adapt and safeguard their energy and food security, while advancing their development and made some important recommendations. Experts, researchers, development practitioners, and representatives from 22 North and West African countries attended the meeting and discussed three critical issues. The impact of climate change and its implications for economic and social development strategies. Energy security and climate change challenges, and especially the pivotal role of renewable energy in meeting the needs of the populations.
Source: Ghana News Agency