BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:unctad.org BEGIN:VEVENT UID:6a902b5075e32 DTSTART:20201130T150000Z SEQUENCE:0 TRANSP:OPAQUE DTEND:20201130T170000Z LOCATION:Online\, SUMMARY:Briefing on the Economic Development in Africa Report: Tackling ill icit financial flows for sustainable development in Africa CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:Context and objective\n\nAchieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustaina ble Development and the African Union Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want\, wi ll require an unprecedented mobilization of resources for African economie s. UNCTAD estimates the annual SDG financing gap for Africa at around US$ 200 million. This financing gap is exacerbated in the short run by the adv erse impacts of COVID-19 on the global economy. The African Development Ba nk\, notes that Africa requires between US$ 110 - US$ 154 billion to recov er from the pandemic. In the medium to long run\, the continent critically needs financial resources to ensure the effective implementation of the l andmark Agreement Establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (Af CFTA).\n\nAt the same time\, Africa loses tens of billions of USD every ye ar through Illicit financial flows (IFFs)\, depriving its economies of muc h-needed domestic resources to foster inclusive growth. IFFs have been rec ognized globally as a serious impediment to development\; thus\, calls to tackle these flows have been at the top of international debates over the past two decades. Furthermore\, there is a need to pay critical attention to IFFs in the midst of COVID-19 which may exert some risks with these flo ws\, driven mainly by instability and volatility in financial markets as w ell as uncertainty over investment returns.\n\nContributing to ongoing eff orts to tackle IFFs at global and continental levels\, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) dedicated its Economic Develo pment in Africa Report (EDAR) 2020 to an analysis of IFFs. The report prov ides updated assessments of these flows within African context\; evaluates their impacts on the continent’s sustainable development considering ec onomic\, social and environmental dimensions\; and\, formulates a set of p olicy recommendations to support national and regional efforts to fight th em.\n\nThis webinar represents a forum for discussing alternative policy o ptions for Africa and for disseminating UNCTAD’s policy analysis with a view to having a greater impact on the development debate. In the context of forthcoming Fifteenth United Nations Conference on Trade and Developmen t (UNCTAD 15) and the Fifth UN Conference on Least Developed Countries (LD C-V)\, it is therefore an occasion to widen and deepen policy dialogue bet ween UNCTAD and UN member States.\n\nOrganizational arrangements \n\nThe w ebinar will be attended by policy makers and delegates from member States\ , Regional Economic Communities\, the private sector\, academia\, and deve lopment institutions.\n\nIt will be held on 30 November 2020 from 3:00 p.m . to 5:00 p.m. (Geneva time)\; 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. (New York time).\n\ nThe meeting will be held virtually via Webex.\n\nThe working language wil l be English.\n\nFor further information\, kindly contact Mr. Rostand Ngad jie Siani (rostand.ngadjiesiani@unctad.org) and Mr. Komi Tsowou (tsowou@un .org) copying Mr. Junior Davis (junior.davis@un.org). \nmailto:junior.dav is@un.org\n\nView meeting on unctad.org\nhttps://unctad.org/meeting/briefi ng-economic-development-africa-report-tackling-illicit-financial-flows-sus tainable DTSTAMP:20260827T121928Z END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR