AU Commissioner for Human Resources, Science and Technology visits the ADEA Secretariat

AU Commissioner for Human Resources, Science and Technology visits the ADEA Secretariat

Newsflash – Tunis August 22, 2013. The new Commissioner for Human Resources, Science and Technology at the African Union, His Excellency Mr. Martial de Paul Ikounga was received on Tuesday at the ADEA Secretariat in Tunis when he stopped by to visit the institution as he proceeded on a mission at the African Development Bank.

Commissioner Ikounga emphasized the importance of ADEA on the African continent, and remarked that one cannot talk about Education in Africa without mentioning ADEA. He underscored the need for more visibility for education on the African continent, and assured the ADEA staff that his office was accessible and welcoming to work with ADEA to tackle the various challenges in education in Africa. He called for a closer working relationship between ADEA and the African Union to the extent of harmonizing strategies and eventually activities.  The Commissioner also invited ADEA to visit the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa for further consultations on the cultivation of a work programme.

The Commissioner was in Tunis to sign a grant agreement amounting to 45 million US Dollars with the African Development Bank to cover the Bank’s support to the recently launched Pan African University. This is a flagship programme of the African Union, which aims at ensuring that the African University is re-established at the core of Africa’s development, and as a veritable instrument for achieving the AU vision of prosperity, peace and integration.

The African Union has a standing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ADEA for Cooperation in various areas in education and skills development, and as this MoU is expiring, Commissioner Ikounga asked for its speedy revival. He also emphasized better communication in education, ITC or information and communication technology and called for  youth issues to be adequately addressed on the continent. 

Commissioner Ikounga was accompanied by the Director of the Department of Human Resources, Science and Technology, Mr. Hakim Elwaer, and the Head of the Education Division, Ms. Beatrice Njenga.