AU urges increased production capacity in Africa

African Union (AU) leaders have called on its member states to strengthen its response to obstacles impacting peace, security, stability and socio-economic development on the continent, while exercising fairness to achieve the organisation's goals, notes Legalbrief Africa. Against a complex and rapidly changing global geopolitical environment, the chairperson of the AU, Burundian President Évariste Ndayishimiye stressed the need for Africa to deepen its collective reflection and strengthen its capacity to respond to the challenges affecting the continent. Africa’s integration agenda must move decisively from aspiration to implementation, he said yesterday (Sunday) at the Alamein Africa Forum in Egypt, attended by heads of state and business leaders from across the continent. According to an AU statement on its website, Ndayishimiye emphasised that, while important progress has been made, institutional and operational obstacles continue to constrain regional and continental integration. He said the second decade of Agenda 2063 (Africa's 50-year strategic master plan for socio-economic transformation, unity and sustainable development, initiated and adopted by the AU in 2015) requires renewed political commitment, stronger co-ordination and effective implementation of the continental frameworks and instruments already adopted. Head of the African Union Commission Mahmoud Ali Youssouf also highlighted the importance of strengthening Africa’s financial architecture and mobilising predictable, sustainable and sufficient resources for the implementation of Agenda 2063.

Africa cannot realise its infrastructure and development ambitions without the capacity to finance its own priorities, he said and added that strengthening continental financial institutions and transforming Africa’s financial architecture are therefore central to achieving greater economic sovereignty and advancing the continent’s development. The chairperson stressed that Africa’s integration must also be driven by stronger intra-African trade and productive capacity. ‘The objective cannot simply be to create a larger market. Africa must have the capacity to produce, transform and add value to its own resources. The continent possesses enormous natural resources, a large and dynamic population and significant human capital. These assets must be transformed into productive capacity, stronger African value chains, increased manufacturing, technology transfer, employment opportunities and greater intra-African trade.’ He also appreciated the vision of the African Continental Free Trade Area as it provides an important framework for this transformation, but said its success will depend on the ability of member states and regional institutions to address the infrastructure, financing, institutional and productive-capacity gaps that continue to constrain integration. Ndayishimiye identified several key obstacles to Africa’s integration, including insufficient productive capacity, infrastructure deficits, inadequate financing, challenges surrounding shared water resources and persistent insecurity and conflicts, according to the AU statement.

Ndayishimiye stressed that creating a continental free-trade area alone will not be sufficient to achieve Africa’s integration ambitions. Africa must produce in Africa, transform in Africa and add value to its resources in Africa, he said. He further emphasised that the continent’s integration must therefore be accompanied by stronger productive and manufacturing capacity, greater investment, improved infrastructure, technology transfer and increased intra-African trade. Ndayishimiye highlighted the importance of infrastructure connecting African countries through roads, railways, energy networks, ports and digital infrastructure, notes the AU statement. On water, he said shared water resources must be managed through wisdom, solidarity and co-operation, in the interest of African peoples and sustainable development. On peace and security, Ndayishimiye emphasised that insecurity and instability undermine every dimension of development. He called for stronger African efforts to resolve conflicts peacefully and welcomed the work of the AU-led inter-regional platform on early warning and conflict prevention. Ndayishimiye encouraged the effective implementation of the platform’s action plan and implementation matrix and called for a decisive transition from early warning to early action.

AU statement

Persistent violence across Africa is taking a toll on farming, education and development, Ndayishimiye told leaders at the AU meeting in Egypt, reports africanews. ‘Amid insecurity, no farmer goes to the fields anymore. No child goes to school anymore. No institution plans development for its country. We deplore that violence persists on our continent. In DRC, in Sudan, it is an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe.’ Egypt’s President urged African countries to respect one another’s rights. Egypt is involved in a long-running dispute with Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which Cairo sees as a threat to its share of Nile waters. ‘There is no doubt that every state has the right to development and to benefit from its natural resources, however, at the same time, this right must be exercised in a responsible manner that does not cause harm to other states,’ Abdel Fattah al-Sisi told the summit. ‘Our common interests are greater than our differences.’ The Alamein forum will become a biennial event under an AU mandate, focusing on infrastructure, trade, agriculture, healthcare, mining, technology and renewable energy. According to Egypt Today, al-Sisi stressed that relations among African countries must be based on mutual respect and good neighbourly relations, as well as dialogue and consultation, away from unilateral policies or narrow interests. He added that sustainable management of shared resources, foremost among which is water, represents ‘a true test of our ability to integrate and transform overlapping interests into opportunities for co-operation.' The President stressed that co-operation on managing transboundary rivers based on international law, consultation and co-ordination, good neighbourliness and the principle of doing no harm. He added that ‘transboundary issues must be addressed as matters that require co-operation, not competition, and dialogue, not confrontation.’

Full africanews report

Full report in Egypt Today

Al-Sisi’s warning that the continent is passing through a ‘delicate stage’ lands at a sensitive moment, states Adalytica. Diplomatic relations among key northeastern African states have deteriorated sharply, with Ethiopia and Eritrea trading expulsions and embassy closures while Egypt has also moved against Ethiopian diplomats. The AU has urged restraint, underscoring how fast local disputes can become broader regional risks. For investors, instability is not just a headline risk. It can slow cross-border commerce, delay infrastructure projects, raise sovereign risk premiums and complicate capital flows into sectors that depend on predictable policy and regional coordination, from transport to energy and banking. That is especially important in a continent where long-term growth depends on deeper integration rather than fragmentation. Sisi’s comments also serve a strategic purpose for Egypt. By hosting the summit in New Alamein and stressing respect for sovereignty and rejection of unilateral policies, Cairo is positioning itself as a defender of regional order at a time when the balance of power in the Horn of Africa remains unsettled. That can help Egypt preserve diplomatic influence, even as tensions with Ethiopia remain a defining fault line. The broader narrative is straightforward: Africa’s investment story still rests on peace, institutions and cooperation, and those foundations are under pressure. Until the diplomatic rift eases, investors will likely keep a closer eye on security risks, political intervention and the durability of regional agreements. For long-term portfolios, the key is not to avoid Africa, but to stay selective, diversified and patient.

Full report in Adalytica