Author: staff reporter

 United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohamed, and the African Union Commission Deputy Chairperson, H.E. Dr. Monique Nsanzabaganwa, on Thursday welcomed, as co-Chairs, the inaugural AU-UN Periodic Coordination Meeting.

This inaugural AU-UN Periodic Coordination Meeting provided a platform to gather momentum for the re-invigorated collaboration by the two organizations for the successful rollout of the agreed thematic priority areas for implementation in the current year 2022 and beyond to address the priorities of the African continent in light of the challenges posed by the COVID 19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine Conflict.  

The meeting reviewed the proposed matrix on the “AU-UN thematic priorities areas” drawing on the outcomes of the Africa RCP Annual Meeting held in Nairobi on 28 February and chaired by the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, as well as the AU-wide Working Group on Africa RCP held on 24 June 2021 under the leadership of the AUC Deputy Chairperson, while fine-tuning the proposed joint work plan of the respective 8 Opportunity and Issue-Based Coalitions (O/IBCs) of the Africa Regional Collaborative Platform (RCP). 

The AU-UN Annual Meeting recommitted to redouble their efforts to move forward the AU-UN Framework on the Implementation of Agenda 2063 and 2030 Agenda, and AU-UN Framework for Enhanced Partnership on Peace and Security in Africa to support African countries in fast-tracking transitions from the socioeconomic response to the challenges of COVID-19 to the longer-term recovery efforts of the African continent. In this context, African Union Commissioners and their UN counterparts from the Economic Commission for Africa, the United Nations Development Program as well as the respective departments of the United Nations Secretariat agreed on enhanced coordination to achieve the common goals of the two agendas, 2063 and 2030.

The United Nations Deputy Secretary-General and the African Union Deputy Chairperson agreed to convene the African Union-United Nations Coordination Meetings periodically and before the end of the year.

Experts have said BRICS cooperation is injecting impetus into global development and helping build a community with a shared future for mankind.

BRICS, an emerging-market group which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, represents approximately 40 percent of the global population and accounts for about 25 percent of the global economy.

Pursuant to the National Payments Systems Regulation, 2021, Pesapal Uganda has received a Payment System Operator license from the Bank of Uganda.

Pesapal has been at the forefront of the Digital Payments revolution in Africa for over a decade. By leveraging technology to make financial services affordable, convenient, and secure, Pesapal is empowering tens of thousands of merchants and millions of consumers in markets across Africa to thrive.

According to Pesapal Uganda Country Director Martin Barungi: “At Pesapal, we give people and businesses better ways to pay and get paid. Now, with the Bank of Uganda’s regulatory greenlight, we will be able to hunker down in our continued effort to change the face of digital financial services in Uganda as a key stakeholder of its financial ecosystem.”

The authorization, he said, gives Pesapal a license to drive cashless transactions and related benefits, including financial inclusion and convenience, by simplifying the processing of payments and expanding how, what type and how fast businesses can get paid and access their funds.

“We are delighted to have received the license from Bank of Uganda as this development sets us on course to revolutionize the digital payment ecosystem with innovative, convenient and secure digital financial services,” Ms. Emmy Rono, Pesapal Uganda Country Manager noted.

“Consumers, in any context – shoppers, tourists, visitors, and businesses can make multi-currency transactions (UGX, USD etc.), from any scheme (Visa, Mastercard, American Express etc.) – either online, in a 3-D Secure environment, or in store, using the Pesapal POS machine, seamlessly.”

Pesapal’s vision is to Empower Africa to access affordable, convenient, and secure digital financial services that drive sustainable growth. We believe this formal foray into the Pearl of Africa, the source of the Nile, is a fitting step towards this future.