Addis Ababa /Johannesburg, The African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) has been at the forefront of promoting South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTrC) among African countries, on the one hand, and between African countries and partners of the Global South, on the other hand, to accelerate economic resilience, political cohesion, and good governance across the continent. The APRM successfully hosted two editions of the Africa High-Level Forum on South-South and Triangular Cooperation in Cairo (2021) and Kampala (2023), with the aim of institutionalizing a continental platform for sharing experience on impactful initiatives that accelerate both Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Building on the success of these previous forums, the Republic of Sierra Leone will host the third edition of the Forum in Freetown from 7-9 May 2025. This edition will focus on “Forging Good Governance and Economic Resilience to Foster Africa’s Integration and Agenda 2063,” along with a continental exhibition showcasing local initiatives supporting Agenda 2063. The forum will be held at a critical moment, coinciding with the adoption of the Second 10-Year Implementation Plan of Agenda 2063 (STYIP) and the launch of several APRM initiatives, including the Africa Governance Report and the Africa Credit Rating Agency (AfCRA).
On the sidelines of the AU Summit in Addis Ababa, Mr. Amara Kallon, Minister of Public Administration and Political Affairs of Sierra Leone, with the support of the APRM Continental Secretariat, engaged with a range of partners to prepare for the forum. These included the GIZ office to the African Union, Brazil, China, India, the Organization for Southern Cooperation, and the African Development Bank (AfDB). Minister Kallon also briefed the APRM partners on Sierra Leone’s ambitious and concrete plans for Civil Service Reforms, which is one of the five pillars of the Presidential agenda for sustainable development. APRM’s strategic partners and countries of the Global South have warmly welcomed the forum’s initiative, emphasizing the need for a new narrative of political solidarity and pragmatic economic collaboration within the Global South.
On behalf of the Organization for Southern Cooperation (OSC), H.E. Manssour Bin Mussallam, OSC Secretary General, expressed strong support for collaboration with the APRM, noting both organizations’ full commitment to Africa’s prosperity. He highlighted various capacity-building programmes that could benefit African countries, including South-South Technology Transfer, Transformative AI, Knowledge Management, and Training of Trainers (TOT) on green prosperity and climate change.
Dr. Tobias Thiel, Director of the GIZ office, reiterated Germany’s commitment to Triangular Cooperation and the fruitful collaboration between GIZ and the APRM over the past few years. The GIZ office, in collaboration with the APRM, AfDB, the Islamic Development Bank, and AU ECOSOCC, will co-host the forum.
Amb. Anil Rai, Ambassador of India to Ethiopia and Permanent Representative to the African Union, commended the APRM initiative and emphasized that the Government of India looks forward to continuing its collaboration with AU organs, and the APRM in particular, to foster Africa-India socio-economic prosperity. He also highlighted the role of the APRM in sharing these efforts at the annual Africa-India Summit.
Finally, representatives from the China Mission to the AU and the Embassy of Brazil to the African Union in Addis Ababa expressed their agreement with the APRM delegation to strengthen potential collaboration between their governments and development agencies. They committed to supporting concrete actions to implement APRM recommendations, particularly in areas such as food security, good governance, the technological divide, private sector involvement in socio-economic development, and entrepreneurship.
For media inquiries or further information, please contact the APRM Continental Secretariat at info@aprm-au.org.
