Every year, policymakers, investors, academics and civil society leaders gather in Paris, France, to discuss and debate the performance of African economies at the International Economic Forum on Africa hosted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Its 14th edition, titled “By Africa, for Africa? Industrialization and Integration for Inclusive Growth,” was held Oct. 7 and, for the first time, the African Union Commission was invited by the OECD Development Center as co-organizer.
At the forum, which attracted more than 700 participants, OECD and the African Union Commission signed their first memorandum of understanding, committing to step up collaboration in support of Africa’s agenda of integration and transformation.
To that end, the OECD Development Center launched an Africa Action Plan, a coherent set of concrete projects in partnership with pan-African organizations and governments.
About the author
Henri-Bernard Solignac-Lecomte
Henri-Bernard Solignac-Lecomte coordinates the OECD Development Centre’s work on Africa, Middle East & Europe and has led research projects on trade, private sector development and development finance. Previously, he was an influential analyst of the renegotiation of ACP-EU trade agreements at the European Centre for Development Policy Management and the Overseas Development Institute. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Paris I (Panthéon-Sorbonne).
