Backgrounder: Minister Sajjan concludes trip to Ethiopia and Egypt and announces funding for development projects

Minister Sajjan concluded visits to Ethiopia and Egypt on May 25, 2023.

In Ethiopia, Minister Sajjan and the Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Monique Nsanzabaganwa, signed a letter of intent to establish a Canada-African Union Commission Development Policy Dialogue (DPD) on issues of mutual interest, including mobilizing the private sector for sustainable development and improving national and continental preparedness and response to extreme weather events and natural disasters. The DPD will complement the Canada-African Union Commission High-Level Dialogue, which was launched in October 2022 by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and the Canada-African Union Commission Trade Policy Dialogue, which was launched in May 2023 by the Honourable Mary Ng, Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development. The DPD will provide a distinct mechanism to share perspectives and increase alignment on development-related regional and continental challenges.

Minister Sajjan was joined on his visit by Arielle Kayabaga, Member of Parliament for London West. Minister Sajjan and MP Kayabaga also visited Canada-funded project sites, including the 4R Nutrient Solutions project, implemented by the Co-operative Development Foundation of Canada; the One-Stop Centre for survivors of gender-based violence project, implemented by the United Nations Population Fund; the Urban Productive Safety Net Project, implemented by the World Bank; and the Climate-Smart Coffee for Women project, implemented by TechnoServe.

In Egypt, on the margins of the African Development Bank Group Annual Meetings, Minister Sajjan hosted a dialogue on fertilizer financing that aimed to elicit better understanding of the challenges faced by African countries—including Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa and Tanzania—with respect to fertilizer and soil health. He highlighted Canada’s interest in addressing these issues as well as Canada’s commitment to food security and nutrition in Africa.

During his visits to Ethiopia and Egypt, and in meetings with the African Union Commission and the African Development Bank, Minister Sajjan announced $78 million in new development funding. Details are as follows.

Development funding

Project: Supporting the African Union’s Green Recovery Action Plan
Partner: Global Green Growth Institute, African Union Commission and African Capacity Building Foundation
Funding: $5 million
The project aims to take a gender-responsive approach to tackling the combined challenges of climate change and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Project: Support for the African Risk Capacity’s Replica program  
Partner: World Food Programme
Funding: $12 million
The project trains national stakeholders in gender-responsive climate and disaster risk-financing tools. It also contributes to enhancing people’s protection from climate shocks and accessing equitable, nature-friendly and timely support for specific climate shocks covered by climate finance instruments.

Project: Support for the African Risk Capacity Group
Partners: African Risk Capacity Group and World Food Programme
Funding: $17 million
The project supports the African Risk Capacity Group’s program to build member states’ capacity for gender-responsive planning and preparation for, and response to, the increased occurrence of disasters driven by climate change and weather events.

Project: Building Equitable Climate-Resilient African Bean and Insect Sectors
Partner: International Center for Tropical Agriculture
Funding: $20 million
The project will foster low-carbon, climate-resilient systems and economies in the bean and insect “corridors” in 15 sub-Saharan African countries by enhancing climate resilience more equitably among women and youth farmers and value-chain actors.

Project: African Fertilizer Financing Mechanism
Partner: African Development Bank Group
Funding: $10 million
The initiative aims to increase access to and adoption of fertilizer and soil-health innovations for biodiversity-friendly sustainable intensification of agriculture that will result in producing more food more efficiently and sustainably. Potential beneficiaries include women seeking to develop commercial enterprises, young smallholder farmers, and local small and medium-sized enterprises in the fertilizer value chain in 15 African countries.

Project: Support of Africa Disaster Risk Financing Multi-Donor Trust Fund
Partner: African Development Bank Group
Funding: $14 million
The multi-donor trust fund aims to support African Development Bank member countries’ management of the risks of climate-related disasters— including extreme droughts, floods and tropical cyclones—and their efforts to better prepare to intervene when such incidents occur.