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-: I am Vishal Jalan,
a partner at the Boston Consulting Group.
I lead a lot of BCG's work with tech services, technologies,
and media clients across the world.
Given the true watershed moment
that India's 2023 G20 presidency is,
it has been an absolute pleasure
to be closely supporting
the Action Council on African Economic Integration
that has been at the heart of our G20 legacy.
As a continent,
Africa has indeed made strong progress over recent years
across the breadth of socioeconomic indicators.
With the 2030 target of achievement
of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
fast approaching, the time is right to catalyze
and augment existing efforts.
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For the Action Council on African Economic Integration,
we, as BCG, really were able to truly deep dive
into our wealth of knowledge and experience,
given our strong practice on the African continent.
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We were privileged to have Mr. Sunil Bharti Mittal,
founder and chairman of Bharti Enterprises,
spearheading this effort as the council's chair,
who steered all meetings with passion and grace,
leveraging his strong relationships
across Africa to make the Action Council a true success.
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BCG played a key role
in putting together the policy paper,
presenting thought leadership across teams,
and ensuring a set of strong, actionable,
and practical recommendations to the G20.
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We are all eagerly awaiting to see the scores take shape
over the coming few days and weeks
at the B20 and G20 Summits.
It's heartening to think of the role we played
into furthering the cause of African integration.
We truly hope 2023 sets a strong foundation
for the Action Council
and that it is carried forward in the future.
(gentle upbeat music fades)