New York, 19 September 2016
This Tuesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly taking place in New York, President Kagame chaired the 3rd board meeting for the SDG Center for Africa. The center currently established in Kigali aims to support the achievement of the SDGs in all parts of Africa.
In his opening remarks to the meeting, President Kagame called on Heads of State and board members present to recommit their support towards the SDG Center for Africa, emphasizing the need to put at the forefront the continent’s common development goals:
“The Global Goals add value to our respective national development plans, and Africa’s efforts to foster inclusive growth and prosperity. We are keen to work closely with all of you, to mobilise the support, commitment and enthusiasm needed, for Africa to maximise the benefits of this important agreement.”
President Kagame also took note of the pivotal role each country’s citizens and private sector must play in spearheading the success of the Center and its ambitious development goals:
“Citizen ownership and involvement, gender equality, increased collaboration with the private sector, and technology, particularly Internet broadband, are key to accelerating progress.”But we have a lot to share, about what works in improving the lives of our citizens. We also want to learn from innovations and successes in other sectors, and other parts of the world.
Members of SDG Center for Africa Board present at the meeting included President Patrice Talon of Benin, President Filipe Nyusi of Mozambique, President Alpha Conde of Guinea Conakry, Jeffrey Sachs and business leader Aliko Dangote, co-chair of the board.