LUANDA, Angola – President Mnangagwa yesterday challenged leaders of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific (OACP) States to leapfrog the modernisation and industrialisation of their countries to help extricate their citizens from extreme poverty.
In his address to the 10th Summit of the OACP whose theme this year was “Three Oceans, Three Continents, One Common Destiny,” President Mnangagwa said it was key for members to ensure the development of trade, science and technology.
“As the current crop of leaders, we have the weighty task to urgently leap-frog the modernisation and industrialisation of our respective countries and regions to lift many more of our people out of poverty into a higher quality of life.
“Let us therefore continue to show our collective commitment to deepening and strengthening economic, political, social, and cultural relations among members states. Due importance must be accorded to the development of trade as well as the fields of science and technology, industry, transport, education, human resources and Information Communication Technologies, among other spheres,” he said.
Under the leadership of President Mnangagwa, Zimbabwe embarked on an ambitious trajectory under Vision 2030, whose agenda is to develop the country into an upper middle income economy.
The 79 OACP members have a combined population of 1.188 billion, a Gross Domestic Product of US$ 2.24 trillion and a per capita of $1800, according to the organistion’s official latest statistics of 2022. The size of the organisation’s population and the combined GDP makes it a formidable force in global economics.
President Mnangagwa said the growing membership of the bloc was a strong signal of the enduring relevance of the group and a clear testament of the unique and rich multi-pronged diversity of membership.
“I wish to say that our strength is in our unity and our critical mass. Together we are a huge market, with immense production and productivity potential. Women and the youthful innovative population as well as ingenious and resourceful Small to Medium Enterprises must be supported to drive sustainable socio-economic growth broad-based empowerment and employment. The implementation of robust mechanisms for the enhanced involvement, participation by our diaspora towards accelerated development, should be pursued with greater vigour. Equally, we must continue to create education ecosystems that promote science, technology and innovation to develop, mordenise and industrilaise our regions
He said the 10th Summit of the bloc was a momentous occasion as it was the first Session after the entry into force of a revised Georgetown Agreement, adding Zimbabwe reaffirmed its commitment to the principles and objectives of the agreement.
Speaker after speaker alluded to the fact that the bloc was facing and was still threated by some ailments such Covid 19 and some disturbances such as the effects of the Russian-Ukraine war.
Covid 19 pandemic disrupted global value chains, while war in Ukraine resulted in many regions facing food supply situation given the centrality of the two warring parties as far as the supply of some key consumables is concerned.
“It is essential that we confront the headwinds of Covid 19, climate change, conflict and terrorism in unity, as a collective force. We must never allow ourselves to be divided. Our partners from the developed world must live up to their commitments and assist us in transitioning to greener and smarter ways of agriculture and production in general,” he said.
Like any other grouping the OACP is facing financial challenges that requires members intervene with resources.
“Zimbabwe’s position is that innovative financing mechanisms are critical for the OACP. The establishment of the Endowment and Trust Fund to support the financial stability of the OACP, is highly commendable. The onus is now on all of us to honour our obligations,” he said. – The Herald
