ADDIS ABABA, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- Africa has faced entrenched structural barriers that keep countries on the continent in a cycle of economic dependency, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) Claver Gatete said Wednesday.

Speaking at the opening session of the 46th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council of the African Union (AU) at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, Gatete said Africa's current global financial standing reveals the stark inequalities it faces.

"The transatlantic slave trade and colonial exploitation robbed Africa of its people, resources, and dignity, and left behind inequalities that persist in global financial systems, trade structures, and governance institutions till this day," Gatete told the session attended by African foreign ministers.

He said the extraction of Africa's resources without corresponding development, the undervaluation of African economies in global credit assessments, and systemic barriers to trade and investment are contemporary manifestations of these historical injustices.

Gatete said the continent possesses 30 percent of the world's mineral reserves, including 40 percent of its gold and up to 90 percent of its chromium and platinum. However, Africa accounts for less than 3 percent of global trade and only 1 percent of global manufacturing output.

The executive secretary noted that the injustice extends to Africa's credit ratings, which are dominated by external agencies that sometimes apply unfair and subjective assessments to African economies.

Gatete said only two African countries -- Botswana and Mauritius -- hold investment-grade ratings, while others, despite sound economic fundamentals, are burdened with high-risk labels, which inflate borrowing costs, stifle investment, and keep African economies locked in debt cycles.

Added to these economic disparities is the fact that although Africa contributed the least to climate change, it is suffering the most from its effect. "It is therefore crucial that these, beyond financial compensation, must be addressed as part of the continent's conversation on reparative justice," he said.

To address the economic disparities facing the African continent, Gatete called for a reformed global financial architecture, debt restructuring, the establishment of an African-led credit rating agency, the promotion of the African Continental Free Trade Area, and the prioritization of value addition within the continent.

The two-day meeting, which brings together foreign ministers from AU members, is being held under the AU's theme for the year 2025: "Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations." Enditem

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