"It is important to stress that there will be no development on the African continent without solid and functional infrastructures, as we cannot fail to mention that the limited capacity for producing and transporting electricity, the weak network of roads and highways connecting our countries, the low investment in telecommunications and information technologies and other issues of similar magnitude that we are facing, represent, as a whole, factors that hinder economic growth and development, as they seriously affect trade and industry, the movement of people and goods, agriculture and job creation", he said, speaking at the opening of the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development.
In his speech, which VerAngola had access to, João Lourenço called for more agile and functional mechanisms to be found to mobilise financial resources that will allow "the recurring challenges faced by developing countries" to be faced.
"We are here to talk about development and the factors that contribute to achieving this objective and, in this regard, this 4th conference represents an opportunity to give decisive impetus to initiatives that lead us to find more agile and functional mechanisms for mobilizing financial resources that will allow us to face the recurring challenges faced by developing countries, such as climate shocks, fluctuations in commodity prices, the erosion of confidence in the multilateral system and, above all, the unsustainable burden of sovereign debt, which consumes more resources than those allocated to health and education combined and drastically limits our room for maneuver to finance our development," he stressed.
According to the AU President, "this situation constitutes a clear obstacle to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda and the fulfillment of Agenda 2063," which express the "shared commitment to building a fairer, more inclusive and more resilient world."
For these reasons, he mentioned, the AU decided, at the summit held in February, to "hold a major conference on the theme 'Infrastructure as a Factor for Development in Africa', to be held in Angola in October this year".
"The purpose of this conference is to show our international partners the mapping already carried out of our needs in this area of public or public-private investment in infrastructure, with a view to attracting them and mobilising resources to achieve this great ambition, which will produce considerable benefits and advantages for all parties involved in its realisation", he added.
João Lourenço also considered that "major investments in infrastructure in Africa require a financing model that is more appropriate and adapted to the economic conditions of African countries, which will imply a re-establishment of the current financial architecture, which can always take into account Africa's priorities, which are often neglected".
He continued, "it seems to us essential and urgent, in order to address concerns about support for Africa's development, which are being repeated at the level of the various forums in which this issue is addressed, that we look deeply into the issue of reforms that are required of the international financial system, in which those most in need must play an active role and be involved in the decision-making processes".
"Only with these conditions in place will it be possible to make the objectives set out in the aforementioned development agendas viable, in order to prevent the Sustainable Development Goals from becoming a mere statement of good intentions", he added.
In addition to the fact that the most vulnerable countries should play "an active role and be involved in decision-making processes", according to João Lourenço, it is also necessary to look at the public debt of African states, which is "acting as a brake on the development" of the continent, diverting resources that could and should be invested in key areas.
In this regard, he recalled that there is a "common African position" set out in the African Union's Lomé Declaration of May 2025, with concrete proposals "to address the debt crisis", including "the creation of fairer and more transparent multilateral restructuring mechanisms, automatic clauses for suspending debt service in the event of external shocks and encouraging the use of local currency in order to reduce exposure to exchange rate risk".
Among other aspects, the Head of State also defended world peace and security as essential to achieving the objectives outlined in the United Nations' 2030 Agenda and the African Union's Agenda 2063.
The conference is a "crucial opportunity to discuss formulas to truly help developing countries overcome the limitations and constraints they face in order to drive progress and development," he said, adding that when they decided to hold the meeting, they did not foresee that "the world would be experiencing such turbulent times as the current ones."
"When it was decided to hold this conference, there was no reason to foresee that the world would be experiencing such turbulent times as the current ones, full of uncertainties and threats that could frustrate our predictions regarding the development we are all committed to, since this is a crucial issue for the present and future of humanity," he said.
"In view of this worrying situation, the issue of world peace and security once again assumes a central role in these discussions, without which we will not be able to take any steps towards our fundamental objectives, as set out in the United Nations' 2030 Agenda and the African Union's 2063 Agenda," he added.
"Only on the basis of reconciliation of interests and dialogue will we be able to build a broad understanding on a global scale, which from our point of view is an imperative of our times, so as not to head towards a catastrophe in which we would all lose out," he admitted.
According to João Lourenço, after the end of the Cold War, "when the world should be focusing all its attention on the economic and social development of nations", we are now witnessing "the arms race of the sad memory of the last century, diverting large financial and scientific resources that should be used for education, teaching, training young people, knowledge and scientific research, focused on the noble cause of development and the well-being of peoples around the world".
"This is our sensitivity, as African leaders seriously concerned about the direction the world is taking and which requires us all to take a responsible stance in addressing and seeking solutions to this frightening crisis that our planet is currently experiencing", he said.
Another highlight of his speech was the desire to see Africa transformed into an industrialized continent: "The African Union's Agenda 2063 aims to transform Africa into an industrialized, integrated and economically sovereign continent, objectives that are absolutely achievable, if all the conditions that I have already mentioned here are changed and that are, in fact, the great obstacle to be overcome in order for us to achieve the goals we have set ourselves."
"Africa has abundant natural resources to make the leap that is within its reach and thus contribute to strengthening the global economy and resolving the various types of crises that the world is facing", he said, adding that it is in this context that Angola "is resolutely committed to mobilizing internal resources, strengthening tax governance and combating capital flight, giving great importance to the United Nations Convention on International Taxation, the negotiations for which have seen encouraging progress and should continue, as this is a historic opportunity to correct the imbalances in the global tax system and ensure equitable representation of developing countries in international tax decision-making processes".
"At the same time, I consider it appropriate to say that Africa continues to face the fact that it is one of the most vulnerable regions but, paradoxically, one of the least responsible for greenhouse gas emissions, which should lead to the continent being looked at with the attention it deserves, providing it with a significant increase in climate financing for the adaptation and mitigation process, support for the fair energy transition and incentives for the conversion of debt into concrete environmental actions, as we understand that climate resilience must go hand in hand with debt relief and the construction of sustainable economic models," he said.
João Lourenço was speaking to an assembly that included over 190 UN member countries, which on Monday formally adopted the "Seville Commitment" document, which aims to be the basis for a new architecture for international cooperation and development financing, which has a deficit of four billion euros per year, according to the United Nations.
The Seville conference runs until Thursday and over 60 world leaders, including heads of state and government, are in the Spanish city on Monday.
