ECA holds African Economic Conference 2016 in Abuja

By Joseph Inokotong
The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), would hold the 11th African Economic Conference (AEC) in Abuja, Nigeria, from December 5 to 7, 2016 under the theme “Feed Africa: Towards Agro-Allied Industrialization for Inclusive Growth”.
Jointly organized by the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Official Opening Ceremony will take place on Monday, December 5, and attendance would be President Muhammadu Buhari, of Nigeria, and will be followed by a Davos-style roundtable debate on The way forward to transforming Africa’s agriculture featuring Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB); Abdalla Hamdok, Acting Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA); Abdoulaye Mar Dieye, UN Assistant Secretary General and Director of the Regional Bureau for Africa, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); and Nobel laureate and Harvard University Professor Eric Maskin.
The conference will provide an opportunity to discuss Africa’s agricultural transformation by presenting the latest empirical evidence on how to leverage agro-industrialization for feeding Africa and promoting inclusive growth. It will also provide critical thinking on how policy-makers, development partners, the private sector, civil society organizations and the academia should support the planning and implementation of these industrialization strategies.
A special event of the Conference will be the launch of the Africa Human Development Report 2016 on December 5, 2016. The Nigerian Minister of Budget and Planning, the Minister of Women Affairs and the UNDP Africa Regional Bureau Director will launch the report.