The NEPAD Agency will host a number of side-events during the Third International Conference on Financing for Development in Addis Ababa from July 13-16, spearheading discussions that will inform the road toward the adoption of a new sustainable development agenda.

The Conference comes at a critical time.  The post-2015 development agenda will succeed the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and will integrate the outcomes of the Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development, both frameworks merging into the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

This new global development agenda will be adopted by Heads of State at the UN General Assembly in New York in September. The SDGs aim to address the challenges of economic development, social inclusion, environmental sustainability and good governance, with the main aim of ending extreme poverty in all its forms.

The outcomes of the two conferences in Addis Ababa and New York will also be key for the success of the UN climate change conference (COP21) that will be held in December in Paris.

In addition to Financing for Development, the Addis Conference will also address the issue of means of implementation, referring to the ‘how’ the goals set out in the post-2015 development agenda can be achieved.

More than 50 world leaders and thousands of delegates are expected to set the path toward this new global partnership for financing people-centered sustainable development.  The decisions taken in 2015 will have significant impact on the global financing architecture between developed and developing countries.

It is in this regard that the NEPAD Agency will specifically lead discussions on how to unlock investment into African infrastructure and agriculture as a prerequisite for sustainable development on the continent. Focus will be placed on ensuring that the continent’s development priorities are well reflected in the global landmark agreements and that best practices on the means of implementation and financing for development will be linked to the country level.