Promise of AU’s 4D Pact resonates deeply in Ethiopia – President Sahle-Work

Addis Ababa, July 8, 2023 (FBC) – The promise of 4D resonates deeply in Ethiopia, among our flourishing startup communities and innovation powerhouses, the FDRE President Sahle-Work said.

The President today delivered an opening address on the virtual event of the Boma of Africa 2023 hosted by the African Union that celebrates the AU African Integration day.

The historical 4D pact was signed on the event by representatives of leading Pan-African institutions.

“I wish to congratulate the African Union, its core Agencies and its strategic partners, such as AfroChampions, for another successful Boma on Africa Integration Day, and above all by the signing of the 4D pact today. For us in Ethiopia, 4D could not have come at a better time,” President Sahle-Work stated.

Also the Chairperson of the Forum, the Ethiopian President said that her country has already signed up to major 4D flagships like PanaBIOS and is looking forward to roll out the AfCFTA Hub, ProPer, Tranzyt & Transforma, and to support the new Funds for SMEs.

“The promise of 4D resonates deeply in Ethiopia, among our flourishing startup communities and innovation powerhouses. As the host of the African Union Commission, we say Long live AU!,” she added.

It is a tradition of the African Union (AU) to celebrate African Integration during July of every year. The premier event for showcasing the successes achieved so far on the integration journey is the Boma of Africa which was hosted today in hybrid format and streamed from Addis Ababa.

At the Forum, heads of state and government, African Union, CEOs, heads of regional bodies, and world leaders have signed the AU 4D Pact to Accelerate AU’s Agenda 2063 Flagship Projects.

The Boma Summit is a gathering of Africa’s key policymakers in various sectors to hasten Africa’s actualisation of the Agenda 2063 goals of single market integration and continent-wide prosperity. This year, the 4D Initiative is taking center-stage at the Boma.

Agenda 2063, launched eight years ago, is the central development plan and framework of all of Africa’s 55 countries. The 4D Initiative, on the other hand, is a mechanism for implementing some of the plan’s elements by mobilising major public and private stakeholders to work more closely together.

African Union and AfroChampions experts and strategists behind the summit revealed that the launching of the 4D initiative was made the centerpiece of the summit due to its immense significance to the post-pandemic recovery of the continent.

The new 4D Pact is intended to secure tens of millions of dollars from key African and global development finance institutions to fund innovators, start-ups, researchers, SMEs and university spinoffs to play a more frontal role in the quest to make Africa self-sufficient in vital technologies and commodities like vaccines, biopharmaceuticals, artificial intelligence systems and genomic applications.