Rabat, July 15, 2025 – At a decisive turning point for the future of the African continent, the African Training and Research Centre in Administration for Development (CAFRAD), in partnership with the Government of the Kingdom of Morocco, is organizing in Rabat the 16th edition of the Pan-African Ministerial Forum on the Modernization of Public Administration and State Institutions. This high-level event will take place at CAFRAD headquarters on July 15, 2025, and will bring together senior African public decision-makers around a crucial theme: the role of leadership in implementing responsible public governance to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the emergence of African countries.

With five years remaining before the deadline set by the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda, the time has come for both assessment and action. In Africa, less than 6% of measurable SDG targets are on track. In light of this concerning reality, the Forum aims to offer a strategic platform to fundamentally rethink public governance systems. In a global context marked by geopolitical instability, climate emergency, rapid technological change, and multidimensional crises, African administrations must now reinvent themselves and embody a transformational, agile, and ethical leadership capable of addressing the complex challenges of sustainable development.

The Forum is intended as a key moment to spark a new wave of reform within the continent’s public institutions. It will enable the sharing of experiences and open discussion on priority issues such as digital transition, public sector performance, green financing, and economic and social inclusion, while encouraging the emergence of innovative and context-specific solutions. The objective is clear: to equip African leaders with tools, skills, and a renewed vision to make public administration a true driver of structural transformation, in order to accelerate the implementation of the SDGs and Agenda 2063 of the African Union.

The event will bring together ministers, ambassadors, senior officials, international experts, academics, and technical partners in a setting that is both confidential and interactive, in accordance with the Chatham House Rule. Using a participatory methodology that combines case studies, thematic panels, debates, and group work, participants will benefit from an environment conducive to experience-sharing and co-creating common strategies.

Among the prominent speakers expected are Professor Amal EL FALLAH SEGHROUCHNI, Minister Delegate to the Government of Morocco in charge of Digital Transition and Administrative Reform, and Chair of CAFRAD’s Board of Directors; Dr. Coffi Dieudonné ASSOUVI, Director-General of CAFRAD; as well as several high-level experts such as Professors Mohamed HARAKAT, Nicaise MÉDÉ, and others. The event will also feature the participation of His Excellency Mr. Nasser BOURITA, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Morocco, as Guest of Honor.

As a historic intergovernmental Pan-African organization founded in 1962, CAFRAD reaffirms through this Forum its core mission: to support African states in modernizing their institutions, strengthening their strategic management capacities, and promoting innovative, inclusive, and sustainable public governance.

This ministerial forum is not only a high-level exchange platform but also a source of inspiration and collective mobilization for a resilient, enlightened Africa that takes charge of its own development. On the threshold of Agenda 2063, it reflects a shared commitment to elevate African public leadership to the level of the continent’s great drivers of transformation.