Morocco, in the person of its Secretary of State for Sustainable Development, Nezha El Ouafi, was elected Wednesday in Marrakech, chair of the African Regional Forum on Sustainable Development.
This election took place during the fifth session of the African Regional Forum on Sustainable Development which is held under the theme “Empowering people and ensuring inclusion and equality”.
Morocco takes over from Senegal and is at the helm of the forum for a one-year period.
It will be responsible for coming up with the recommendations of this session to the High Level Political Forum in July.
The new elected board is made up of Angola as 1st vice-president, Chad, 2nd vice-president, Angola, 3rd vice-president and Guinea as rapporteur.
Initiated by Morocco in collaboration with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, this forum, whose opening ceremony was presided over by the head of the Moroccan government, Saad Eddine El Otmani, witnessed the participation of several ministers and senior African officials in charge of environment and sustainable development.
This continental Africa event also brings together policymakers and experts from governments and intergovernmental organizations, the private sector and civil society organizations.
This session is a key step in the process of preparing the Africa for the 2019 High-level Political Forum to be held in New York from 9 to 18 July, under the auspices of the UN Economic and Social Council.
It provides an opportunity for participants to discuss, at the regional level, the Sustainable Development Goals and the corresponding objectives of the African Union Agenda 2063.
The regional forum is an intergovernmental platform set up by ECA, in collaboration with other United Nations agencies, the African Union Commission and the African Development Bank.
It aims to assess progress, exchange experiences in the field of sustainable development in Africa and make recommendations to speed up the implementation of the 2030 agenda at regional level.
HA/pn/as/APA