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Mr. President, I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.

The Candidate Countries Türkiye, Montenegro^*, the Republic of Moldova, and the EFTA country Norway, align themselves with this statement.

At the outset Mr President, let me express the EU’s gratitude to Kenya and Angola as the facilitators of the process of negotiations on the resolutions on “the New Partnership for Africa’s Development: progress in implementation and international support” and “Promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa” respectively. We also thank Ghana and the Gambia, as coordinators of the G77 and China, and other delegations for their active and constructive engagement in the negotiations. 

The African Union and the European Union have a close and longstanding partnership on a wide range of issues, in particular security and development, rooted in dialogue and multilateralism. Our partnership is solution-oriented and forward-looking. Europe and Africa need each other to build a solid and lasting response to global common challenges, from climate change, financing, energy, food security, peace and security to strengthening health systems.

Our daily work in the United Nations to promote sustainable development, conflict prevention and resolution, including on the African continent, bears witness to how much we prioritise these issues. Maintaining the consensus on the NEPAD and Causes of Conflict resolutions is a priority for the EU and its Member States, and the EU has engaged actively in the negotiations.

We welcome several important developments in the NEPAD resolution this year, notably on combatting climate change.  Europe and Africa are like-minded allies in our ambition to tackle global sustainability challenges such as climate change and biodiversity loss, which have a dramatic impact on livelihoods and development opportunities in Africa.

In the Causes of Conflict in Africa resolution, we were able to celebrate two recent milestone achievements: the agreement in the Fifth Committee on assessed contributions for the Peacebuilding Fund and the adoption by the Security Council of resolution 2719 on potential UN financing of African-led peace support operations. Both of these achievements have been long-standing priorities for African countries and for the European Union.

We also started a good conversation about the establishment of a Fellowship for Young Africans at the UN. We look forward to continuing this discussion and exploring how we can best support the African group in building capacity for young Africans at the UN.

The EU and its Member States remain committed to our partnership with Africa. We will continue to work towards enhanced and strengthened cooperation with our African partner countries.

Thank you.