Daniel Osiemo, Ag. CEO NEPAD / APRM Kenya Secretariat (left) and Prof. Aggrey Ambali, Head of dustrialisation, Science and echnology at AUDA – NEPAD having a chit-chat in the newly opened AUDA-NEPAD Eastern Africa Office in Nairobi on September 16, 2019.
NAIROBI, Kenya Sep 16 – The African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) Eastern Africa Regional Office has been operationalized in Nairobi, Kenya.
This follows a decision by the African Heads of State and Government, who during the 31st Ordinary Session of the African Union Summit, approved the transformation of the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) into the African Union Development Agency (AUDA).
Part of the transformation included establishment of Regional Offices to strengthen the Agency’s coordination of programme implementation across the five African Regions (East, South, North, West and Central Africa).
After consultations, Kenya was identified as the most suitable location for setting up the East African Regional office.
The decision was guided by the country’s proven capacity, quality of facilities and conducive environment for hosting regional and international bodies. The visibility and active participation of the NEPAD/APRM Kenya Secretariat in African Union programmes also encouraged this resolution.
Daniel Osiemo, Ag. CEO NEPAD/APRM Kenya Secretariat (front row, fourth from left), Prof. Aggrey Ambali, Head of Industrialisation, Science and Technology at AUDA-NEPAD (front row, fifth from left), Dr. Jeremy Ouedraogo (front row, third from left), Ms. Rebecca Oloo (front row, second from left) together with staff from AUDA- NEPAD and NEPAD/APRM Kenya Secretariat during the opening of AUDA-NEPAD Eastern Africa Offices in Nairobi. /COURTESY.
The Kenyan Government, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, welcomed the decision and has been instrumental in ensuring a smooth procedure in the establishment of the office, processing of documents including the Host Country Agreement as well as offering logistical support.
Following the operationalization, the office will commence coordination of one of its key initiatives, the African Biosafety Network of Expertise (ABNE) and later embark on working with AUDA-NEPAD country offices in the region on various programmes.
The programmes, which form AUDA-NEPAD thematic pillars include Infrastructure, Regional Integration and Trade; Human Capital Development; Natural Resources Governance and Food Security; and Industrialization under which ABNE Falls.
Currently, the ABNE programme is implementing biosafety activities in 17 African Countries
The AUDA- NEPAD team was led by Prof. Aggrey Ambali, Director Industrialization, Science and technology and was received by the NEPAD/APRM Kenya Secretariat acting Chief Executive Officer Daniel Osiemo.
In his address, Prof. Ambali thanked the Kenya team for continued support and noted President Uhuru Kenyatta’s major contribution to continental programmes, including the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), which underwent revitalization under his leadership.
On his part, Osiemo welcomed the team saying it was an honor for Kenya to host the regional office and gave assurances of support from the national office.
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