Prime Minister, Édouard Ngirente on Wednesday said that African economies need to focus more on industrialisation because it has the potential to be a powerful driver of sustainable economic growth on the continent.

He made the remarks at the formal opening ceremony of the 53rd Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank (AfDB) that is underway in Busan, South Korea.

Korea hosts the bank's 2018 annual meetings from May 21-25, 2018, under the theme: "Accelerating Africa’s Industrialization.”

"There is need for African countries to take further action to advance inclusive and sustainable industrial development to achieve rapid economic growth. Accelerating industrialisation in Africa would increase productivity through value addition, create more jobs, raise incomes, and bring prosperity to our citizens,” said Ngirente.

He noted that, globally, the share of Africa in the value chain of manufacturing is only around 2 per cent, and most of the continent’s exports are raw commodities, adding that changing the trend requires political commitment, effective public services, a conducive regulatory environment, and a proactive private sector.

"Africa faces constraints that must be addressed together with our partners, including production capacity, infrastructure, trade information, access to finance, and trade facilitation, Premier said.

The five-day event has attracted close to 3,000 participants from across Africa and beyond including among others, government officials, business leaders, AfDB staff, civil society representatives and the media.

The meeting was also graced by the Deputy Prime Minister of South Korea and Minister of strategy and Finance, Dong Yeon Kim, Prime Minister of Morocco, Saadeddine Othmani, and Jim Yong Kim, World Bank Group, President.

Opening the forum, Dong said that, to translate Africa’s huge potential into actual economic prosperity, industrialization is critical.

"Despite Africa’s impressive economic achievements, however, its full potential has not been reached yet. Industry’s contribution to GDP is still lower than in other parts of the world, and natural resources make up 70 percent of Africa’s export,” he said.

The Korean government official noted that new technologies can provide leapfrogging opportunities by speeding up the industrialization process and creating new value.

According to the AfDB President, Akinwumi Adesina, the bank plans to invest $35 billion over the next ten years towards its focus on industrialization.

"The African Development Bank’s industrialization strategy hopes to help Africa to raise its industrial GDP from a little over $700 billion today to over $1.72 trillion by 2030. This will allow Africa’s GDP to rise to over $5.6 trillion, while moving GDP per capita to over $3,350,” he said.

Adesina emphasized: "To create more jobs – and I mean quality, well-paying jobs – Africa must fast-track industrialization.”

Prime Minister Ngirente also participated in the high-level panel on Industrialization in Africa.