"AfDB calls for strong investment in the youth at 2022 Commonwealth Business Forum"

" \n AfDB calls for strong investment in the youth at 2022 Commonwealth Business Forum \n \n\n \n The 2022 Commonwealth Business Forum opened in Kigali, Rwanda, on Tuesday with a resounding call for action to do more to spur intra-Commonwealth trade, protect the environment and invest in young people for an equitable common future. \n \n\n \n African Development Bank President Dr. Akinwumi Adesina was one of several high-level speakers on a panel at the event. \n \n\n \n The forum\u2014a run-up to the official opening of this year\u2019s Commonwealth Heads of State and Government Meeting (CHOGM)\u2014is the first and largest in-person gathering for governments and businesses across the Commonwealth since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. \n \n\n \n Hosted jointly by the Rwandan government and the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council, this year\u2019s business forum addressed the CHOGM 2022 theme, \u2018 Delivering a Common Future: Connecting, Innovating, Transforming ,\u2019 with a focus on a global reset, dealing with the pandemic\u2019s impact and the Commonwealth\u2019s role in rebuilding the global economy. \n \n\n \n During a panel discussion at the opening plenary, Rwandan President Paul Kagame said the time had come for Commonwealth countries to harmonize and translate common visions into action to build back a shared future, prioritizing the youth. \n \n\n \n \u201cWe seem to understand what we need to do. We should just do it,\u201d said Kagame, who was commended by fellow panelists for transforming Rwanda. \n \n\n \n Kagame called for a balanced Commonwealth. He said: \u201cWe need to keep making sure that when you talk about the Commonwealth, you mean the commonwealth; not just being common to a few, so everyone in the Commonwealth family feels they are part of it. So even those at the lower level feel not left behind.\u201d \n \n\n \n Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland said intra-Commonwealth trade exports had rebounded from $700 billion in 2019 to an estimated $760 billion in 2021, the highest ever recorded in value terms. \n \n\n \n She projected that intra-Commonwealth exports would grow steadily over the next five years, surpassing the $1 trillion mark by 2026. \u201cWe hope to put trade back on track following the economic setbacks caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the spillover effect of the Ukraine conflict,\u201d Scotland reassured the audience. \n \n\n \n Scotland said there was substantial progress in boosting intra-commonwealth trade and investment towards the goal of $2 trillion in intra-commonwealth trade by 2030. \n \n\n \n Recognizing the presence of the African Development Bank President, Scotland extolled Adesina\u2019s leadership of the institution and its achievements. \n \n\n \n Alongside the Rwandan leader and the African Development Bank Group President, other panelists were Australian mining businessman Andrew Forrest, CEO of climate data cooperative Subak, Amali Chivanthi de Alwis MBE, and Managing Director and Executive Vice President at the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank Group, Makhtar Diop. \n \n\n \n The future of African youth lies in Africa \n \n\n \n Adesina said the future of the Commonwealth must be well-shared across its 54-nation family, must be youth-driven, and climate-resilient. He said it was also important for everyone to have equitable access to vaccines. \n \n\n \n Adesina stressed: \u201cWe have to prioritize young people in all our financing. We must create youth-based wealth. What the youth need is access to skills, education and finance.\u201d He spoke of the African Development Bank\u2019s \u2018Job for Youth\u2019 scheme and its \u2018Coding for Employment\u2019 program, explaining that these programs greatly contributed to youth becoming leaders. \n \n\n \n The African Development Bank chief commended President Kagame for showing exemplary leadership in Africa. \u201cA common future needs good leadership to make the people believe they can build their life where they are. [\u2026] I don\u2019t believe the future of the youth in Africa lies in Europe. I don\u2019t believe it lies in Latin America, Asia, or anywhere else. It lies in Africa growing well, able to create quality decent, competitive jobs for its young people.\u201d \n \n\n \n For Subak\u2019s Chivanthi de Alwis, the Commonwealth must protect the planet and invest in education to give young people the skills for the future. \n \n\n \n The IFC\u2019s Diop said Commonwealth member countries must have ambition and vision and also go on to implement them. \n \n\n \n He said the IFC had initiated products to support trade finance in Africa and help de-risk investment. \u201cTrade financing will be essential to building a resilient ecosystem of value chains in Africa,\u201d he posited. He added: \u201cWe have a lot of businesspeople who don\u2019t know the continent as we know it. They would like to put their money into the economies but ask us to derisk it, so we\u2019d use our resources to de-risk it to attract more investment.\u201d \n \n\n \n Diop expressed confidence in the Africa Continental Free Trade Area as one of the ways to boost exports from Africa. \n \n\n \n Australian miner and businessman Forrest backed calls to invest in education for children. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to invest in boys and girls for equal education outcomes,\u201d he said, adding: \u201cAfrica must also adapt to green energy, taking advantage of its vast renewable potential. Let\u2019s capture that for the kids. Let\u2019s capture that for the economy. Let's capture that for quality.\u201d \n \n\n \n The Commonwealth is home to a growing membership of 54 countries, covering 2.5 billion people (60% under 30), representing a third of the world. The combined GDP of the Commonwealth community stands around $13 trillion and is estimated to reach 19.5 trillion in 2027. \n \n\n \n \n "

"AfDB calls for strong investment in the youth at 2022 Commonwealth Business Forum"

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