Message from the bureau chair

Professor Celeste Saulo, Secretary-General of World Meteorological Organization

H.E. Ambassador Josefa Leonel Correia Sacko, Commissioner for Agriculture, 
Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment, African Union Commission:

H.E. Mr Jean Ernest Massena Ngalle Bibehe (AMCOMET Outgoing Chair), Minister of Transport, Republic of Cameroon  

Distinguished Directors of WMO (Headquartes and Regional Office for Africa)  

Permanent Representatives of Member States with WMO

AMCOMET Secretariat

Distinguished Participants, Ladies and Gentlemen.

Good afternoon!

My name is Hon. Beatrice Atim Anywar (Minister of State for Environment). I am here on behalf of Hon. Sam Cheptoris (Minister of Water and Environment), who is out of the country for another equally important engagement abroad.

It is indeed a great privilege for me to make this acceptance speech as the new Chair of AMCOMET. This is a great honor to Uganda and we don’t take it for granted.

The opportunity to Chair AMCOMET, reveals the confidence you have in me and Uganda as a country to steer this great continental organization in the next two years.  

I will do my best to ensure that together, we build on the achievements of the outgoing Chair, the leadership team, Secretariat and all the members of AMCOMET.

The impacts of climate change are already being felt in several countries in Africa. The disasters associated with extreme weather events are on the rise in the region. There is thus need to strengthen the capacity of National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) to provide early warning information to save lives and property.

We recently lost lives through floods in Kenya, Tanzania, and landslides, among others, in different regions. Drought events are increasingly getting severe, resulting in famine, loss of lives and livelihoods.

These weather related challenges cannot be effectively managed without a collective effort. We need both political and technical support at national level, regional level and beyond.

AMCOMET is therefore better placed to coordinate Member States and ensure that the required political and technical support are built for the good of our region.

I therefore look forward to working closely with all the members to ensure that our collective dreams are achieved.

I thank you all.