African leaders have said the continent needs to be involved as a partner in providing solutions for the global post Covid-19 economic recovery.
The leaders who included Presidents Uhuru Kenyatta, Macky Sall (Senegal), Alassane Ouattara (Ivory Coast), Julius Maada Bio (Sierra Leone) and Mahamadou Issoufou (Niger) spoke during a virtual meeting convened by the New York Forum Institute.
Speaking at the meeting whose theme was, ‘Resilient World: An African call for a New World Order,’ President Kenyatta asked the international community to view and treat Africa as an equal partner in development.
The Kenyan Head of State said the Covid-19 pandemic presents the world with a new opportunity to recalibrate its relationship with Africa adding that the continent is so far managing the crisis better than that many people expected.
Citing the Kenyan government’s insistence on the use of mobile money transfer services during the current health crisis as opposed to cash transactions, President Kenyatta said “Kenya has deployed technology to help manage the spread of the virus as well as keep the economy moving. Technology has not only provided job opportunities but contributed to the growth of the economy,” President Kenyatta said.
He said under the leadership of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa as the African Union chairperson, African leaders have been holding talks on how to partner in tackling challenges arising from the current health crisis.
Presidents Alassane Ouattara, Julius Maada Bio and Mahamadou Issoufou echoed sentiments shared by their Kenyan and Senegalese colleagues adding that Africa’s bulging youth population is a resource that can help the world overcome the adverse socioeconomic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
