President John Dramani Mahama has explained the Reset Agenda he has been championing since assuming office over a year ago.
Speaking on the sidelines of the AU Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on February 13, he said “Accra Reset is an architecture, a framework through which Africa and its partners align finance, health, trade, skills, and technology into a single direction of travel.”
Please read the full text below:
H.E. John Dramani Mahama President of the Republic of Ghana Accra Reset Addis Reckoning event Addis Ababa- Ethiopia
Excellencies,
Dear colleagues,
Friends of Africa,
We gather this morning not to add another side event to a crowded summit calendar. We are here because Africa has reached a turning point, we cannot afford to ignore.
We are in an era where old assumptions no longer hold. Supply chains are fractured. Finance is cautious. Technology outpaces our laws. The pious
mantra of development cooperation has lost its flavour. There are tectonic shifts in the global rules that shaped our world over the last eight decades.
We began this dialogue at the Health Sovereignty Summit in Accra. I gave it political voice at the UN General Assembly, tested them in Davos, and
today in Addis Ababa, we move into action.
I want to recognise my colleagues in the Interim Presidential Council of the Accra Reset—leaders who have invested political capital in an idea still
evolving, still demanding courage.
I thank President Ruto, President Al-Sisi, President Tinubu, President Hichilema, President Tshisekedi, President Gnassingbé, President Lula da
Silva, and Prime Minister Mottley. Your acceptance to serve on the Council reminds us that leadership is often exercised before certainty arrives.
Some have asked what the Accra Reset really means. Some imagine another declaration. Others expect fiery speeches. Accra Reset is an architecture, a framework through which Africa and its partners align finance, health, trade, skills, and technology into a single direction of travel.
Our frustrations have given way to determination, sparking breakthrough thinking that will change the calculus of international relations. Take, for example, Global Health. For too long, our health systems have been seen as budget drains. Through the Accra Reset, every finance minister now understands that health is the foundation of productivity and stability.
I am pleased to announce our High-Level Panel on Reform of Global Health Architecture, co-chaired by Professor Peter Piot, Honourable Budi Gunadi Sadikin, Chancellor El Hadj As Sy, and Honourable Nísia Trindade Lima.
Reform will be grounded in knowledge of past failures while animated by future promise.
On Negotiating Power, it is said that sovereignty depends on the people manning the gates. Technical work has begun on our Sovereign Negotiators
Certification Programme, cultivating a generation of dealmakers who can navigate technology agreements, minerals contracts, and complex
financing with confidence.
On Trade and Mobility, through the AfCFTA Hub and digital platforms, the League of Free Movement is taking on new meaning. Our Global Digital
Skills Passport will ensure that the qualifications of young Africans are recognised across platforms and countries.
On Global Partnerships, the New Bandung Spirit is gaining expression. Exchanges with South Korea, Singapore, India, and Indonesia are opening
pathways for technological learning and digital trade. AI is becoming embedded in our industrial planning and governance systems.
Excellencies, there is a quiet truth we rarely say aloud. For years, Africa’s leaders have been asked to choose between ambition and realism. The Accra Reset rejects that false choice. Ambition becomes realistic when institutions align, partners listen, and execution becomes a shared
responsibility.
This morning, therefore, is not a conclusion. It marks the beginning of a more disciplined phase in which ideas must prove themselves through
delivery.
We must commit to definitive decisions:
▪ On dealmaking
▪ On health as a multiplier of wealth
▪ On critical minerals supply chain intelligence
▪ On the repatriation of African sovereign forex reserves
▪ On digital skills passports
We have reflected enough in all our meetings over the years.
It is time to commit.
It is time to interlock our Sovereign Prosperity Spheres.
It is time to transform.
Thank you
