Freetown, Sierra Leone – 9 May 2025 – The African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) Continental Secretariat, in collaboration with the Government of Sierra Leone, successfully organized the Third Africa High-Level Forum on South-South and Triangular Cooperation for Sustainable Development. The event took place from 7 to 9 May 2025 at the Bintumani International Conference Centre in Freetown, Sierra Leone, under the high patronage of His Excellency Dr. Julius Maada Bio, President of the Republic of Sierra Leone. The forum brought together participants from across Africa, as well as representatives from China, India, Saudi Arabia, and various APRM national structures.
The Minister of Public Administration and Political Affairs of the Sierra Leone and APRM Focal Point of Sierra Leone, H.E. Amara Kallon, the Ambassador of Germany and Dean of the diplomatic corps to Sierra Leone, H.E. Jens Kraus-Masse, the Minister of Planning of Sierra Leone, H.E. Kene Mbali, the Chairperson of the APR Committee of Focal Points, H.E. Selma Bakhta Mansouri, the Secretary-General of the Organisation of Southern Cooperation, H.E. Mansour Bin Musallam, the Vice Chairperson of the APR Panel of Eminent Persons, Ambassador Ali Ahmed Araita, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ghana and representative of the President of Ghana, H.E. Samuel Ablakwa, and the Prime Minister of Algeria and representative of the Chairperson of the APR Forum of Heads of State and Government, H.E Nadir Larbaoui, attended the Forum, which was opened by the President of Sierra Leone, H.E. Julius Maada Bio.
H.E. Amara Kallon welcomed participants to Freetown and expressed his confidence that the APRM would continue making strides during Algeria’s chairship. The CEO of the APRM Continental Secretariat, Ambassador Marie-Antoinette Rose-Quatre, in her remarks setting the stage for the Forum, called for urgent reforms of the United Nations (UN) system, the global financial architecture and multilateral coordination mechanisms.
Ambassador Ahmed Araita Ali stated that South-South cooperation offered responses to local challenges with respect to public health and food security. He added that indigenous knowledge was found in the numerous country and targeted review reports. In his statement, H.E. Jens Kraus-Masse affirmed that the APRM fosters good governance, transparency and accountability, recalled the support provided by Germany to the APRM through GIZ and informed participants that the new German administration will continue providing support to Africa.
The UN Resident Coordinator, Mrs. Seraphine Wakana, in her remarks, argued that current challenges cannot be overcome with current approaches and finance. She indicated that South-South and Triangular Cooperation were levers to accelerate the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). H.E. Mansour Bin Musallam asserted that certainties could not be relied upon and that aid cuts contributed to the awakening of the peoples of the Global South. He called for investments in health systems, technology, sustainable agriculture, and renewable energy.
H.E. Samuel Ablakwa extended his congratulations to the people of Sierra Leone on celebrating their 64th independence. He stated that solidarity among countries of the global South was a strategic imperative to achieve the SDGs. The Minister called for investments in job creation and underscored the importance of digital technology to strengthen public capacity. Africa, he asserted, must invest in a knowledge economy, courageously confront neo-colonialism and exploitation, end proxy wars as well as the dependency syndrome.
H.E. Nadir Larbaoui expressed appreciation to the Republic of Sierra Leone and the APRM for hosting this important Forum which is fully aligned with Algeria’s commitment to Agenda 2063 the SDGs. He pointed out Algeria’s commitment to South-South cooperation evidenced by the establishment of the Algerian Agency for International Cooperation for solidarity and development and the review of legal and institutional frameworks for investment.
In his rousing keynote address, H.E. Dr Julius Maada Bio, affirmed that Africa was at a historic inflection point and would no longer wait to be invited to the table. As participants reflected on the conclusions of the second South-South and Triangular Cooperation held in Kampala in 2023, he urged them to confront uncomfortable realities, namely debt, COVID-19, climate change and geopolitical upheavals. President Maada Bio decried the fact that the global order was designed without the inputs of the global South. He also called on African Union Member States that have not acceded to the APRM to do so.
The Forum addressed pressing issues such as economic resilience, civil service delivery, the role of the African diaspora in promoting good governance as well as the role of women and youth in sustainable development among others.
On the margins of the Forum, a continental exhibition was held to showcase African youth initiatives by organizations such as Ele-Vate AI, the Experts Group on Institutional Reforms, Education in Crisis, the Saudi Fund for Development, the African Association for Public Administration and Management, Good Governance Africa, and Afrobarometer.
Following the reading of the declaration of the Forum – the Freetown Declaration – by H.E. Amara Kallon, the Vice President of Sierra Leone, H.E. Dr Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, delivered a closing statement which concluded the three-day Forum.
For further information, please contact:
Ms. Sara Hamouda, Coordinator of the Forum, sara.hamouda@aprm-au.org.
Ms. Bernadette Yiga, Agenda 2063 Researcher, bernadette.yiga@aprm-au.org.
