JOHANNESBURG, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- Political stability achieved in Africa in recent years has enabled a number of countries to achieve economic progress and positioned themselves to attract investment, said South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday.
Speaking at the second Africa Investment Forum in Johannesburg, Ramaphosa stated that the Forum attended by six African presidents was a place for engagement on Africa's development and growth.
"It brings together African governments, sovereign wealth funds, the private sector, financial intermediaries and others to find ways to unlock the continent's untapped economic potential," he said.
Ramaphosa cited the peaceful elections held in South Africa, Nigeria, Malawi, Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique and other nations as an indication of stability.
"Across Africa, economic reforms have been enacted to boost investor confidence, to broaden access to local economies, to strengthen institutional capacity, to remove bureaucratic and other investment impediments, and to clamp down on corruption," he said.
During last year's Forum, a total of 350 investors from 53 countries took part and played a key role in the funding of Accra Sky Train, the Kigali Innovation City, the first road-rail bridge project linking Kinshasa and Brazzaville projects.
"This in turn has attracted increased levels of investment in infrastructure needed to connect people and goods to markets," the president said.
Acknowledging the existing underdevelopment and infrastructure backlogs, he said infrastructure development was instrumental in driving growth and development in Africa.
"Infrastructure is a vital driver of economic growth, and we have prioritized attracting infrastructure investment so we are able to achieve the socio-economic targets in Agenda 2063 and the UN's Sustainable Development Goals," he said.
Africa Development Bank is hosting the three-day Forum which will end on Wednesday.
Some of Africa's fastest growing economies' leaders including Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo are attending the forum.
