ADDIS ABABA, April 17 (Xinhua) -- African ministers have reiterated their resolve to fight corruption and illicit financial flows at a meeting in the Ethiopian capital.
The six-day 2nd annual meeting of the African Union (AU) specialized technical committee on finance, monetary affairs, economic planning and integration was concluded on Tuesday at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa.
African officials have underlined the need for robust efforts to fight corruption and illicit financial flows out of the continent.
In her remarks to the ministerial session, AU Commissioner for Social Affairs Amira El Fadil said corruption is a major obstacle to the development of the continent.
The pan-African bloc has designated anti-corruption as the theme for the year 2018.
"Good governance through the fight against corruption is the foundation of Africa's transformation," Fadil said.
The ministerial session also highlighted the need to redouble efforts in the fight against illicit financial flows out of Africa, which costs the continent more than 50 billion dollars a year.
According to Fadil, the AU has been working with other pan-African institutions to locate and recover the illicit financial flows generated by corruption.
"Much efforts is being made to recover stolen assets that will be used to finance the development of the continent," she said.
"The AU Commission is currently working on the implementation of a continental rapid assessment system which will help its member states to identify the risks of illicit financial flows and to better prevent them," Fadil said.