President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi called on African countries to rely more on their own resources and develop African financing mechanisms to fund the continent’s development, saying genuine development must be driven by Africans themselves.

El-Sisi made the remarks while co-chairing the summit of the founding member states of the African Union Development Agency-NEPAD (AUDA-NEPAD) with Angolan President João Lourenço in New Alamein on Saturday.

The summit brought together leaders and representatives of Egypt, Algeria, Nigeria, Senegal and South Africa, the agency’s five founding states, as well as Burundi’s president, the current African Union chairperson. Representatives of the African Union Commission and AUDA-NEPAD also attended.

“The time has come for Africa to rely more on its own resources and establish and adopt African financing mechanisms,” El-Sisi said in his remarks during the summit.

He added that “genuine development does not come from outside but is built through the will, knowledge, work and innovation of the continent’s people.”

The summit adopted the Alamein Declaration, which reaffirmed the role of AUDA-NEPAD as the continent’s leading development agency and its contribution to implementing the African Union’s Agenda 2063, according to the Egyptian presidency.

Supporting AUDA-NEPAD

The president said AUDA-NEPAD has evolved since its launch in 2001 into the African Union’s executive arm for translating Agenda 2063 goals into concrete development programs and projects.

He described the agency as one of the main institutional pillars of Africa’s development efforts.

El-Sisi called for continued support for AUDA-NEPAD and its institutional capacities and working mechanisms to enable it to meet its growing responsibilities and turn Africa’s aspirations into tangible development results.

He said Africa and the world have undergone major transformations in recent decades, with technology, digital transformation and innovation becoming key factors in shaping countries’ capabilities.

The president also highlighted knowledge-based economies, investment in people and youth empowerment as essential pillars of sustainable development.

He called for a renewed development vision that keeps pace with rapid changes and places African people at the center of the development process.

El-Sisi said NEPAD has contributed to continental infrastructure, agricultural transformation, human capital development, industrialization and regional integration.

As the agency’s responsibilities have expanded, he said, support for it should increase accordingly.

‘Private Sector Key Driver of Development’

The president also highlighted the private sector as a key driver of development, growth and job creation.

He called for favorable investment environments supported by stronger infrastructure, more effective legislative and regulatory frameworks, easier business procedures, stability and the rule of law.

He also urged stronger public-private partnerships and more effective development financing mechanisms, alongside projects capable of generating tangible economic and social returns.

Closing Africa’s Funding Gaps

During Egypt’s chairmanship of AUDA-NEPAD’s Heads of State and Government Orientation Committee, Egypt placed particular emphasis on development financing and closing funding gaps, which remain among the main challenges to Africa’s development, El-Sisi noted.

He said Egypt’s initiative to hold the Alamein Africa Business Forum every two years in New Alamein comes as part of Africa’s development plan and ambitious projects within the framework of second ten-year implementation plan of the 2063 Agenda.

He also said Egypt’s chairmanship advanced efforts to establish an African Union development fund under the “Team Africa” initiative to strengthen the continent’s collective capacity to implement continental projects.

The initiative also aims to build partners’ confidence in Africa’s ability to achieve its development goals, the president emphasized.

El-Sisi expressed confidence that Angola, under Lourenço’s leadership, would build on the achievements made during Egypt’s chairmanship and further strengthen AUDA-NEPAD’s role in supporting development and integration across Africa.

‘New Phase of Cooperation from New Alamein’

The president called for New Alamein to serve as the starting point for a new phase of cooperation and for the summit to mark a renewed commitment to advancing development in line with the aspirations of Africa’s peoples and future generations.

The summit was held alongside the inaugural Alamein Africa Business Forum, a biennial platform bringing together African governments, businesses, financial institutions and development partners to support investment and economic cooperation across the continent.