AU ECONOMIC COMMISSIONER DISCUSSES AFRICAN

UNCLAS ADDIS ABABA 002545 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR AF/FO AND AF/RSA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON PREL AU SUBJECT: AU ECONOMIC COMMISSIONER DISCUSSES AFRICAN INTEGRATION, PARTNERSHIP WITH U.S. ¶1. (U) On October 20, USAU Ambassador Michael Battle met with Dr. Maxwell Mkwezalamba, the African Union (AU) Commissioner for Economic Affairs. Mkwezalamba began by explaining that the Economic Affairs Commission is organized into three divisions: (1) Economic and Policy Research; (2) Economic Integration and Regional Cooperation; and (3) Private Sector Development. The first division works on harmonizing the African continent's macro-economic policies with an eye toward creating an African Central Bank by 2018 and instituting a single, African currency in the 2018-2020 timeframe. Before this, however, the AU plans to set up an African monetary institute. ¶2. (U) Discussing the division of Economic Integration and Regional Cooperation, Mkwezalamba noted that his team works with the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) in Africa, and coordinates with other AU departments. While a number of RECs have already created free trade zones within their regions, the goal is to reduce tariffs to zero and create free-trade areas across the African continent. Turning to the private sector, Mkwezalamba said that his department has drafted a private sector development plan, which has yet to be implemented. Given the AU Chairperson's emphasis on the need to see clear results on the ground from AU initiatives, the Economic Affairs division has devoted significant time to private sector reform. ¶3. (SBU) Citing the importance of Africa to the future of the world, Ambassador Battle suggested connecting the AU's Economic Affairs Commission with the U.S. Department of Commerce in order to deepen the relationship between the AU and the U.S. Mkwezalamba said that there had been discussions within the commission of establishing a partnership with the U.S. In fact, his department coordinates dialogue between Africa and the European Union (EU),and would like to formalize a similar partnership with the U.S. Mkwezalamba specifically said that his department "could benefit from your experience with the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)." He also discussed the idea of having a central monetary policy and commented that his division could also learn from the U.S. Federal Reserve System. ¶4. (SBU) Mkwezalamba said that Africa's integration program was built on the European model, and covers economic, social, educational, agricultural and cultural areas. Interestingly, he also said that, eventually, integration would include the political realm to achieve a "United States of Africa," though this is a long time away. MEECE