Staff Reporter
PRESIDENT Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah said that Africa has taken ownership of the implementation of the Pact for the Future, which she described as the agreed roadmap for reinvigorating multilateralism.
The Pact for the Future is a wide-ranging international agreement adopted by all 193 United Nations member states in September 2024 to make global institutions more inclusive, effective and ready for 21st-century challenges.
Closing a high-level side event on the Pact for the Future Implementation in Africa on the margins of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, President Nandi-Ndaitwah outlined key takeaways from the discussions.
She said the Pact serves as a guiding compass to make the multilateral system fairer, more representative and more effective, one in which Africa must be properly represented, including in the UN Security Council.
“The Pact for the Future is the agreed roadmap for reinvigorating multilateralism, serving as a guiding compass to make the multilateral system fairer, more representative and more effective, one in which Africa must be properly represented, including in the UN Security Council,” she said.
President Nandi-Ndaitwah said the Pact advances key priorities of the African Union’s Agenda 2063, including the transformation of African economies, strengthening the continent’s peace and security architecture, and the promotion of science, technology and innovation.
She said financing for development remains a key element of the Pact, highlighting reform of the international financial architecture, technology transfer and international tax cooperation.
The President noted that the Pact recognises young people as partners in shaping the future, not simply as its beneficiaries.
She stressed that implementation is not only happening at global level but in capitals, and urged more Member States to bring the Pact home.
“The real measurement of the Pact’s success will be its national uptake. We encourage all Member States to deliver impact where it matters most – at the country level… across the African region and beyond,” she said.
Looking ahead to the SDG Summit in 2027 and the road beyond 2030, President Nandi-Ndaitwah said Pact implementation is a vehicle for accelerating the Sustainable Development Goals, not a parallel track. She called for using digital transformation and stronger governance, which are at the centre of the Pact, as engines of delivery.
She said the 2028 Pact review should be seized as an opportunity to re-energise SDG delivery and to inform the emerging conversation on the post-2030 Agenda.
The President called on the UN system to continue supporting Member States in implementing the Pact and urged the international community to strengthen North-South, South-South and Triangular Cooperation.
She thanked participants for taking part in what she described as a historic event showcasing Africa’s ownership of the Pact.
Photos: Namibian Presidency
