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SA’s dynamic political, economic and investment climate (SAnews)
President Cyril Ramaphosa has emphasised the significant opportunity for private capital to invest in South Africa’s energy transition during a meeting with 20 – 20 Investment Association on Wednesday at the Union Buildings.
“As we have shown, long-term asset managers and investors will be able to contribute to sustainable clean growth in the fields of renewable energy generation and transmission. There is also great investment potential in the development of the electric vehicle manufacturing sector and the generation of green hydrogen for local industrial use and export,” President Ramaphosa said.
President Ruto pledges predictable tax regime for manufacturers (Business Daily)
President William Ruto has promised manufacturers a predictable tax regime as part of his government’s plan to attract investment. Speaking at a manufacturer’s summit in Nairobi, Dr Ruto said the intention is to create a conducive operating environment so manufacturing can create more jobs and increase its contribution to the country’s GDP. Manufacturers have decried uncertainties in Kenya’s tax regime, including frequent changes to the excise duty and VAT, many county levies and unharmonised export taxes that have made it a headache to comply and plan.
The manufacturers noted that sudden fiscal and taxation policy changes harm businesses and become a stumbling block to business continuity. Predictability of the tax regime on the other hand allows investors to make projections on long-term investment while reliability gives them confidence in the stability of economic policy.
Manufacturing contribution to the GDP has declined over the past six years to stand at 7.2 percent in 2021, down from 7.9 percent in 2019.The sector contributed 8.4 percent of the GDP in 2018, at 8.7 percent in 2017 and at 9.3 percent in 2016.The sector’s contribution has averaged 11 percent in the past decade, signalling a general stagnation.
Kenya’s dollar import cover shrinks to a seven-year low (Business Daily)
Kenya’s import cover has dropped to the lowest levels in seven years, reflecting lower foreign funding amid a faster growth in imports than exports and a slowdown in remittances from Kenyans abroad. Latest Central Bank of Kenya data shows the stockpile of foreign currencies stood at $7.32 billion (Sh752.96 billion) last Thursday, a drop of $103 million (Sh12.45 billion) compared with the week before.
Foreign exchange reserves are largely tapped for government payments such as servicing external debts and essential government imports such as medicines. The reserves, the bulk of which are in US dollars, also serve as backup funds in unlikely emergencies such as devaluation of the shilling, thus giving confidence to investors.
Kenya’s import cover is slightly above the statutory four months of import but has since July fallen below the desired 4.5 months cushion recommended by the seven-nation East African Community bloc.
Ghana, Morocco ratify deal on double taxation (Graphic Online)
Ghana and Morocco have exchanged instruments of ratification on the agreement to avoid double taxation and prevent tax evasion. The agreement for the avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion was signed by King Mohammed VI of the Kingdom of Morocco and President Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo in 2017 when King Mohammed visited Ghana to strengthen relations in the areas of trade, investment and agriculture for economic enhancement.
The ratification means that companies in Morocco would not be made to pay taxes in Morocco and in Ghana, likewise Ghanaian companies who want to invest in Morocco would also be exempted from paying double taxes in Ghana and Morocco.
Mr Ampratwum-Sarpong said the ratification demonstrated the commitment of both parties to deepen their relations. “The ratification of the document goes to reinforce the importance of economic diplomacy. This means that a huge burden has been lifted off the trade, business and on the economic diplomacy field,” he said.
Nigeria is on the verge of economic transformation (Reaction)
It’s a turbulent time for currency markets. As the British pound tumbled to a record low, the Turkish lira traded at its weakest-ever levels, retreating 0.2 per cent to 18.45 against the dollar. Meanwhile, the Nigerian naira, which trades officially at N421 to the dollar, fell to N700 on the parallel market.
To help get a handle on the economy and stimulate growth, Nigerian policymakers have long sought mechanisms to increase international trade. This goal has largely been elusive, with Nigeria often stuck in trading arrangements akin to their colonial-era circumstances, exporting raw materials and importing manufactured goods. Even so, the country is now on the verge of an economic transformation.
“The opening of new markets and easing of cross-border transactions envisioned under the AfCFTA are expected to increase capital funds and promote both foreign direct investment and intra-continental investment within Africa,” said Sarmad Lone, regional head of global banking for Africa and the Middle East at Standard Chartered Bank.
Senegal hones its home-grown rice to cut dependence on Asian imports (Reuters)
Senegal’s rice production has soared in recent years as it seeks to reduce dependence on imports, but the population across West Africa has also risen fast, meaning countries still rely on Asia for supplies, particularly of high-quality produce.
With concern growing over food security across Africa, prompted by trade disruptions caused by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, that dependence is now in focus, particularly after key supplier India curbed rice exports last month.
Rice is the main source of calories for the Senegalese and has become a major staple across West Africa, where local production only covers around 60% of demand, according to the 15-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Even as global food prices rise, many people including Gueye’s clientele still favour imports over the rice grown along the bends of the Senegal river valley in the north. West Africa’s dependence on rice imports is a drain on foreign reserves, costing it around $3.7 billion in 2021, according to U.N. trade and development agency UNCTAD data.
Featured news: AfCFTA Guided Trade Initiative
The AfCFTA guided trade initiative should not last too long – tralac founder (GhanaWeb)
Gerhard Erasmus, Professor Emeritus of the Law Faculty at the University of Stellenbosch and founder of Trade Law Center (tralac), a leading independent think tank has advised implementers of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement and African Governments not to allow the AfCFTA Guided Trade Initiative last too long. He believes that getting several countries trading in a number of limited products but rather ensure that the main achievement of the implementation processes of the AfCFTA is concluded to allow party states themselves to drive the AfCFTA.
Addressing trade experts and Trade Lawyers during the 2022 tralac Annual Conference in Nairobi, Kenya, Professor Emeritus Gerhard Erasmus, who was significantly involved in the drafting of the South African and Namibian constitutions advised governments of AfCFTA party states to be prepared to own the implementation of the continental trading agreement instead of leaving it to the Secretariat to only guide a few countries and limited products to move across regions.
He said admittedly, we do not have the AfCFTA as a comprehensive framework, but once that arrangement is completed, then countries must ensure its implementation without having the secretariat guiding trading across the continent.
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More African trade news
Free trade agreement will boost intra-Africa deals, say 90pc CEOs (Business Daily)
Nine in 10 African chief executives have confidence the actualisation and adoption of the free trade agreement will boost intra-African trade, a new survey shows. A survey by the Pan-African private sector trade and investment committee (PAFTRAC) revealed that 93 percent of the executives from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) sampled across Africa were confident the free trade agreement would improve economic activities on the continent.
“Our survey clearly shows that the vast majority of African CEOs believe that the implementation of the AfCFTA will have a positive effect on the levels of intra-African trade, even as early as 2022-23,” the report read in part. “A total of 93 percent were confident to some extent that it would have a positive impact, with 25 percent describing themselves as very confident.” Last month, Kenya shipped its first consignment of locally made batteries to Ghana, two months after it was picked among seven countries to pilot the continental free trade area. Upon successful implementation, the agreement will create a single African market of more than a billion consumers with a total GDP past $3 trillion, making Africa the largest free trade area in the world in terms of population and geographical size.
A new vision for African agency in sustainable development (Chatham House)
The conventional notion that Africa is mostly a consumer of norms and practices designed by the Global North has been repeatedly challenged and is increasingly being debunked. Increased African agency in international affairs is today a well-established and documented reality. But Africa’s influence still does not match the scale of the challenges that it faces on its pathway to sustainable development.
Pushing for African agency in sustainable development also warrants a critical assessment of how ‘sustainable development’ should be defined, and how it can be achieved in terms of actual poverty reduction and real improvement in the lives of local poor Africans. Sustainable development has been a political catchphrase for over 30 years – but a genuine transition towards sustainability has yet to begin.
In international forums on sustainable development, African countries are increasingly using their collective voice to change the discourse on how development can and should be done. For instance, by championing innovative solutions for carbon markets, African policy leaders are enabling access to climate finance for development while preserving Africa’s natural wealth.
In the post-COVID era, championing investments in and leadership of Africa’s global health architecture demonstrates a desire that in the next pandemic, Africa CDC, AMA and continental manufacturers will play leading roles in determining Africa’s public health strategy and implementation. In trade, building on the groundwork led by the regional economic commissions, the AfCFTA will catalyse and scale regional integration, trade and cooperation, leading to promising new modes of supply chain and self-sufficiency.
Encouraging signs that African agency is gaining momentum cannot disguise the fact that Africa has yet to move from rhetoric to implementation in the realm of sustainable development. Continental visions often fail to go beyond declarations of intent, and have only limited influence on governance systems or national structural transformation, and African states remain vulnerable to economic shocks emanating from the global system.
Change will require governance systems that are coordinated, transparent, efficient, and inclusive, as well as tools, processes, and means (material, technical, and human) for successful implementation. There is an urgent need for a new governance paradigm in Africa and internationally, dealing with long-term social change.
How technology is shaping the future of logistics in Africa (Ventures Africa)
Africa’s logistics market has experienced significant growth in the last few years. This advancement is pushing more and more companies to look beyond megacities, and explore strategies to connect even rural communities to regional supply chains. Communications Leader, Oluwaseun Adebola is Global Marketing Lead. In this interview with Ventures Afric, he speaks about how technology is at the centre of progress for the Logistics Market, highlighting key growth drivers for the industry in Africa.
Consortium unveils pan-African cold chain logistics to boost food security (The Africa Logistics)
To improve essential temperature-controlled logistics infrastructure in sub-Saharan Africa and ensure food security in the region, African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM) and its investment partners, Bauta Logistics and Mokobela Shakati (Pty) Ltd Consortium have established a cold chain logistics platform, Commercial Cold Holdings (CCH) with the initial acquisition of CCS Logistics from Oceana Group.
Funds managed by AIIM intend to invest up to USD150 M in the platform, inclusive of the initial asset acquisitions as well as a pipeline of further acquisitions and greenfield development projects. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval. The transaction was financed by a mix of equity and debt financing.
As global population grows and demand for food supply chains increase, demand for temperature-controlled logistics is also on the rise. This transaction therefore signifies AIIM’s entry into the cold storage sector which seeks to establish a pan-African cold storage platform.
Africa’s Green Economy Summit to clean up infrastructure (ESI-Africa)
Palesa Shipalana, chief sector expert on economy and infrastructure in South Africa’s Presidency, in the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation
The biggest challenge is changing the norm. We are used to our budget process, our strategic planning processes, annually tabling and getting Parliament to approve national departments’ annual performance plans (APPs), five-year strategic plans. And, we are used to having the entire budget process itself following a specific term of its own, and we never spoke green. At some point, we spoke of sustainability. So now, we are realising that the whole package has to be repackaged and reviewed in light of a greener recovery in light of sustainable development. And in the context of the domestic economy, we also have to prioritise the rising crime rate, and poverty due to COVID-19 has gone up and inequality has gone up. Unemployment has gone up, especially amongst the youth.
So, the way we did things in the last 20 years no longer seems to be possible. So, we have to go back to the drawing board and do zero costing and in that zero costing, prioritise sustainable infrastructure, prioritise greener programmes for our communities and industries. We are now faced with loadshedding and water shedding. So, our operational environment has definitely changed, and we need to think big and be bold about how we recover this economy in a sustainable manner.
Addressing the Impact of Climate Change on Human Mobility at the center of PAFOM deliberations in Kigali (African Union)
The African Union (AU) in collaboration with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and the Republic of Rwanda launched the 7th Pan African Forum on Migration (PAFOM), in Kigali, under the theme: “Addressing the Impact of Climate Change on Human Mobility in Africa: Building Adaptation Strategies and Resilient Communities” on 18 October 2022, to provide a more focused engagement with all relevant Migration stakeholders including Regional Economic Communities (RECs), AU Member States, Ambassadors, private sector, academia, parliamentarians, African diaspora community and civil society organizations in Africa and to discuss among others ways in strengthening continental, regional and national consultation mechanisms on Migration to enhance collaboration among African Union Member States, for sustainable Migration Governance in Africa, and serves as a platform for participants to share experiences and best practices on the impact of climate change, displacement and migration; especially within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and formulate relevant recommendations on early warning, preparedness, and adaptation strategies, including return and reintegration in communities of origin.
Ag. Director for Social Development, Culture and Sports department, Ms. Angela Martins acknowledged that climate change is emerging as one of the key drivers of migration in Africa, and that the growing recognition of the nexus between migration and climate change has triggered much debate and policy discussions in Africa and reflecting the growing concern surrounding the impact of climate change in shaping human mobility, on one hand, and on the larger front, how these phenomena have impacts on Africa’s socio-economic development, human welfare and security.”
Experts seek to turn climate change tide on migration (The New Times)
African countries used as guinea pigs for energy experiments, Mantashe says ahead of COP27 (Fin24)
Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe said developed economies offering energy transition finance to African economies were using them as “guinea pigs” on which to perform energy experiments. Mantashe was addressing the Africa Energy Week in Cape Town on Tuesday afternoon. The address comes ahead of a crucial COP27 meeting in Egypt in November, where SA is expected to present the plan for $8.5 billion in concessional loans and grants pledged at COP26 last year to help South Africa decarbonise its economy.
The address also comes after the minister’s keynote address to the Africa Oil Week and the 2022 Windaba earlier this month, where he criticised developed economies for trying to determine the terms of the energy transition in African countries.
AfDB asks African countries to minimise greenhouse gas emissions from oil sector (TheCable)
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has asked African countries to mitigate climate change by minimising greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from petroleum activities. Elisabeth Mitchell, independent advisor and consultant to the AfDB, said this on Wednesday during a presentation at a webinar series on natural gas and energy transition.
“Make minimising greenhouse gas emissions from your petroleum sector central to all decisions about that sector from inception to decommissioning,” she said. “It reduces the risks of your projects becoming stranded and allows you to develop your resource for the benefit of your population in a carbon-constrained era.” She also said minimising GHG emissions should be at the centre of all decisions about the sector “from initial project design, through operating practices, to a fully funded decommissioning plan”.
Mitchell added that a recent policy paper jointly produced by the bank and the NPG discusses emerging frameworks and technologies for decarbonising the oil and gas sector.
Africa’s longest oil pipeline 30% complete (The Africa Logistics)
Africa’s longest oil pipeline is 30% complete president Mohamed Bazoum has announced. “Over 600km have already been laid across several sections of the Niger-Benin Oil Export Pipeline,” the Presidency said. The $4bn pipeline will be 2,000km long and link Niger’s oilfields in the Agadem Basin to an export terminal at Sèmè-Kpodji in Benin.
The Niger-Benin crude pipeline project, which represents phase two of the Agadem oilfield development, involves the construction of a new pipeline and associated facilities. It will feature a single point mooring system, which is expected to export 4.5Mtpa of crude oil.
Construction of the project is expected to generate additional traffic to the Port of Cotonou in Benin. The port is expected to process up to 300,000 tonnes (t) of goods, once the pipeline becomes operational.
Global economy
The multilateral system needs to implement an urgent and far-reaching SDG Stimulus Plan, that starts with immediate liquidity and debt relief actions to allow developing economies to meet the global development goals. This was an urgent call to action from the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, at the World Bank and IMF annual meetings in Washington DC this week.
This message was further elaborated in the statements submitted by UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner at the meeting of International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC), and World Bank Group’s Development Committee where he represented the UN. ”Action must be taken now for a sustainable common future – before the global economy tips into a recession, before the world becomes more fragmented,” said Steiner.
In a report on international debt relief issued before the World Bank–IMF annual meetings and ahead of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting, UNDP warned that 54 developing economies –that account for 3% of global GDP but over 50 percent of the world’s poor-- need debt relief now to avert a major systemic development crisis.
The risks of inaction are dire: if debt-distressed developing economies do not get access to effective debt restructuring, poverty will rise, and they will struggle to invest in adapting to climate change. Poor countries in debt distress are among the most climate-vulnerable in the world
Fifty-four developing economies accounting for more than half of the world’s poorest people need urgent debt relief as a result of cascading global crises. The risks of inaction are dire - if these countries do not get access to effective debt restructuring, poverty will rise and desperately needed investments in climate adaptation and mitigation will not happen - particularly since countries affected are among the most climate-vulnerable in the world, according to a new paper published today by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The paper - ‘Avoiding ‘Too Little Too Late’ on International Debt Relief’ - highlights the ripple effects of government responses to the recent economic crisis and warns of the potential impacts. Against this bleak backdrop, the paper lays out a number of policy actions for debt restructuring that could help stop the debt crisis in its tracks.
Market conditions are shifting rapidly as a synchronized fiscal and monetary contraction and low growth are fuelling volatility around the globe: 19 developing economies are now paying more than 10 percentage points over US Treasury bonds to borrow money on capital markets, effectively shutting them out of the market. Holders of many developing economy bonds are seeing them trade at deep discounts of between 40 to 60 cents on the dollar.
Lifting 100 million out of poverty by 2025 still possible, despite recession threat (UN News)
The Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), a joint analysis from the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) at the University of Oxford, goes beyond measuring poverty as a measurement of poverty, and looks at other indicators, from access to education and health, to living standards such as housing, drinking water, sanitation and electricity.
Using this way of calculating the issue, the study shows that, even before the COVID-19 pandemic and the current cost-of-living crisis are accounted for, some 1.2 billion people in 111 developing countries are living in acute multidimensional poverty - nearly double the number who are seen as poor when poverty is defined as living on less than $1.90 per day.
United Nations Development Committee Statement (UNDP)
We are at a make-or-break moment for the 2030 Agenda, which remains a blueprint for a global recovery and a sustainable future for all. The COVID-19 pandemic, impacts of the war in Ukraine on the cost-of-living, tightening financial conditions and unsustainable debt burdens are threatening a synchronized global recession – in the backdrop of an escalating climate crisis wreaking havoc across the globe.
While still struggling with the lingering economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, high food and energy prices have hit the world, strongly exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, and are leaving already vulnerable countries unable to protect their citizens. The international community cannot let the current food crisis escalate deeper into a food catastrophe.
Time is short to prevent the food crisis from escalating in 2023. The UN Global Crisis Response Group calls on the international community to bring stability to global markets, reduce volatility, and tackle the uncertainty of commodity prices. The same goes for energy markets where prices remain highly elevated and volatile, especially hurting energy import-dependent developing economies many of which are already in or near debt distress. Vulnerable countries need urgent financial assistance to deal with soaring energy (and food) prices so they can protect their low-income and vulnerable populations and maintain hard won gains in access to energy and reductions of energy poverty.
The multilateral system must set in motion a push for SDG financing to address immediate needs and ensure a sustainable and inclusive global recovery. We call for a large-scale SDG Stimulus Plan that directs public sector commitments towards sustainable development, humanitarian assistance, and climate mitigation and adaptation at an annual rate of 2 percent of global GDP –$500 billion per year by 2025.
Trade and Development Board, 72nd executive session – Item 5: Economic development in Africa (UNCTAD)
The 2022 edition of our Economic Development in Africa Report’s theme is “rethinking the foundations of export diversification in Africa, the catalytic role of business and financial services”. This topic could not be more important today, as Africa, as well as much as the developing world, battles to fight off a major cost-of-living crisis, marked by rising prices, onerous debt burdens, and the very real prospect of a new economic recession, barely two years after the COVID shock. This is why finding structural, sustainable, and long-term sources of growth is so important for the African continent.
Africa remains one of the least diversified regions in the world. Commodities still account for more than 60 percent of total merchandise exports in 45 African countries. Long-term commodity dependence has left Africans vulnerable to global shocks – a crucial issue today, as shocks are becoming more common, and Africa’s socioeconomic development is suffering as a result.
Moving into more sophisticated manufacturing and leveraging technology-based services could enable African countries to participate in new, higher-value segments of global and regional value chains. Services in particular are a huge opportunity. Services account for only 17 per cent of Africa’s exports, and the sector is dominated by traditional services like travel and transport, who represent more than two-thirds of the total. Implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement provides a real opportunity for Africa to diversify its economy, including through high-knowledge, intensive services. Africa should not miss this opportunity.
Investment and trade to meet the Paris climate goals (UNEP)
Money talks, they say. Well, right now, money is whispering when it comes to climate action. Yes, global climate finance flows – public and private, domestic and international – have been growing in volume. They reached USD 632 billion per year for 2019–2020. But we need an increase of at least 590 per cent in annual climate finance to get on track for the goals of the Paris Agreement.
Climate financing for developing countries also fell short of the goal of USD 100 billion per year by 2020. While we are getting closer to the goal, we need to get to the USD 100 billion as soon as possible. Financing for adaptation – which developing nations need desperately given the climate impacts already locked in – is particularly weak.
The picture is just as miserly for nature, which we need to back to end the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste. Global investments that degrade nature exceed conservation efforts by USD 600-852 billion annually. We need to turn this equation on its head. In fact, we need to turn the financial system on its head, shake its pockets and get the money to where it needs to go. Let’s consider the four key areas in which we can shake things up.
The global food crisis: consequences and solutions (Trade Finance Global)
Today, the world is witnessing a severe global food crisis triggered by heavy inflation, supply chain disruption, and the Russia-Ukraine conflict. This comes when the global food market stability is still recuperating from the COVID-19 pandemic-induced economic crisis and climate-linked crop failures, both hurricane and drought-led. Consequently, low-income economies that hinge on food imports heavily have been hit the hardest.
The current agro-situation is about food availability and essential food items access––including wheat, rice, maise, and seed oil––to the neediest and the most vulnerable economies. Experts assert that open trade, information transparency, waiver in food import bills, and, most importantly, free flow of fertilisers for farmers worldwide are the prominent calls to action to alleviate the situation. Assisting farmers with weather index subsidies, and helping them sow weather-resistant seeds to control crop losses, are some of the measures that require universal infrastructure.
Heads of public development banks on Wednesday underlined the critical need to build resilience for fragile countries and to boost African countries’ capacity to tackle global emissions in a sustainable manner. Stressing the need to forge even stronger cooperation, they said the third Finance in Common Summit, held for the first time in Africa, would be proof of commitment to reducing poverty and “future proofing” the planet.
The summit which opened in Abidjan, the commercial capital of Cote d’Ivoire, comes amid overlapping global crises: Covid-19 pandemic, climate change and the Russia-Ukraine war. These crises are severely affecting many parts of the world, particularly Africa. The summit is being held with less than a month to the UN climate conference, COP27, to be held in the Egyptian town of Sharm el Sheikh.
African Development Bank Group President, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina said a continent beset by capital flight from emerging markets, increasing debt service costs, and which is also home to nine out of the world’s ten most vulnerable countries to climate change needed its backers to “go further.” These fragile states depend on the African Development Fund, the concessional lending window of the African Development Bank Group.
“That’s why together as Finance in Common, we need to do more to pool our resources and leverage the pools of capital in the private sector for climate finance… We must do all possible to ensure energy transitions, while recognizing the specific needs of developing countries,” Adesina said.
Climate adaptation success lies in spirited cooperation of development banks – FiC (Engineering News)
A conclusive message arose from the third instance of the Finance in Common (FiC) summit hosted on October 18 to 20, in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, that a common vision and cooperation between development banks is needed to realise Africa and the world’s climate adaptation goals. “What is good for Africa is good for the world, and it has never been more true than with the climate crisis,” said Global Centre on Adaptation (CGA) CEO Patrick Verkooijen.
World Bank Advisory Council on Gender and Development (World Bank)
The World Bank Group’s Advisory Council on Gender and Development is the main external consultative body helping the World Bank Group promote gender equality, a prerequisite to our goal of ending extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity. The Council meets twice a year to consider progress on, and constraints to, gender equality globally, and to provide feedback and advice on the World Bank’s work in this area. Members also collaborate on projects that promote gender and development, and contribute to efforts to raise awareness of gender-related issues and the benefits to societies and economies of improving opportunities for women and girls.
Governments step up drive to bolster air connectivity (Trade Arabia)
Governments attending the 41st ICAO Assembly earlier this month have taken new steps to strengthen the role of air connectivity in their strategic planning and policies to achieve global sustainable development. “You have strongly promoted the recognition of aviation as a powerful enabler of economic recovery, the need for increasing liberalization of air services, and the role of air cargo operations in keeping our world supplied and connected in times of crisis,” declared ICAO Council President Salvatore Sciacchitano in his closing remarks.
