The 14th African Union High Level Private Sector Forum was held at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi, Kenya from 10th to 12th July, 2023. The three-day forum themed “Public-Private Sector Engagement for Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development while Deepening Regional and Continental Trade and Investment towards Implementation of AfCFTA” was aimed to strengthen the linkages between regional and continental markets for increased trade and investment.

Member States were encouraged to align their agribusiness priorities in line with the Malabo and Maputo declarations and the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP). On ensuring access to reliable and affordable energy supplies, the forum urged AU Member States to mobilize additional financing towards enhancing the participation of Independent Power Producers (IPPs) upon providing subsidies and other incentives as to increase energy access in Africa.

Some of the resolutions of the forum include:

• Adoption of policies to encourage intra-African trade in food production by among other things removing Non-tariff Barriers (NTBs) that currently make imports from outside the continent costly compared to locally produced food;
• Investment in irrigation agriculture by moving away from the reliance on rain-fed agriculture; and
• Building resilient food systems which are climate resilient by employing technologies which promote investments in technologies that also address post-harvest losses.