The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has praised the growing cooperation between Nigeria and South Africa as a crucial platform ensuring Africa’s priorities are heard in global decision-making arenas. Varsha Redkar-Palepu, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative, spoke at the G20-Africa outreach meeting on industrialisation and agriculture held in Abuja, ahead of the G20 Summit in Johannesburg on November 22-23, 2025.
She commended Nigeria’s leadership in hosting the meeting and South Africa’s stewardship of the G20 Presidency, highlighting the African Union’s permanent membership in G20 as a game-changer for the continent’s global economic influence.
Redkar-Palepu underscored agriculture’s role as Africa’s economic backbone, employing half the labor force but lamented the continent’s reliance on exporting mostly unprocessed goods while importing costly food products. She emphasized the inseparable link between industrialisation and modernising agriculture as Africa’s path to progress, calling for reforms in global finance to reduce the “African premium” and enable sustainable economic development.
The UNDP official called for aligning national reforms with G20 outcomes to accelerate agricultural yields, reduce losses, and mobilise large-scale finance, urging Africa to turn its natural wealth into lasting prosperity.
The meeting also featured Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, and other dignitaries emphasizing Africa’s commitment to shared prosperity and global solidarity.
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