Africa's regional integration will benefit all.

AUDA-NEPAD was created in Niamey, Niger, in July 2019, during the African Union summit. Its creation was one result of the AU reforms championed by Rwanda's president, Paul Kagame, former chairperson of the AU. In an interview with Africa Renewal's Kingsley Ighobor in New York Dr. Mayaki spoke on AUDA's role in Africa's development agenda and discussed regional integration and his agency's plan to create a million jobs. These are excerpts:

Africa Renewal: What are the main differences between AUDA and NEPAD?

Dr. Mayaki: AUDA has a broader mandate. It is expected to address implementation challenges regarding decisions made by the African Union.

For example, we are now the African Union's technical focal point with development partners such as China, India, the United States, the G20, the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD). This is very important in order to track implementation of agreements reached with these partners.

AUDA will also focus on resource mobilisation and the connections between sectors to avoid a siloed approach, which as you know is a key aspect of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For example, when we deliver in agriculture, we also look at water, energy, land, etc.

There is now a division of labour between the AU Commission, the Regional Economic Communities and AUDA in implementing the AU's strategic frameworks at the national and regional levels.

You have reiterated that regional bodies play a bigger role in Africa's development. Are there often tensions between regional institutions and national governments?

Your question is fundamental because regional integration will only progress if national governments-which manage regional bodies-implement regional decisions.

We see national governments push for regional development strategies. In the Southern African Development Community (SADC) for example, agriculture ministers meet regularly to discuss agricultural transformation in their region. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) meets regularly on a common strategy on energy.

The problem is how regional decisions essentially derived from continental frameworks are implemented country by country. That's where our role becomes important. We need to make sure that there is coherence between regional strategies and national plans.

Africa's new free trade area, for example, is a continental initiative. Until June this year, Nigeria and Benin were holding out. How do you...