Paris, October 26 (RHC) -- UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay on Thursday advocated for greater government support for the fashion sector in Africa, which she considered important in areas such as inclusion and female empowerment.

"The fashion industry in Africa is taking off strongly and this report shows its potential to continue to prosper," she said on the occasion of the presentation by the multilateral body of the report The Fashion Sector in Africa: Trends, Challenges and Opportunities for Growth.

According to the official, in order to materialize the necessary progress it is urgent that designers, professionals and the entire production and distribution infrastructure receive greater support from government authorities.

We see great potential for the economy, the insertion of young people, the empowerment of women and the dissemination of African culture on a global scale, she stressed in a context also marked by the development of the Fashion Week in Lagos, Nigeria.

The director general considered that if the requested support is forthcoming, the fashion industry will become one of the world's benchmarks on the continent, a criterion supported by the report.

In this sense, the text reflects that Africa is an important producer of raw materials, with 37 of the 54 countries of the continent dedicated to the production of cotton, and is a leading exporter of textiles, with a value of 15,500 million dollars a year, and an importer of fabrics, clothing and footwear for 23,100 million.

It also points out that there is a growing trend in the continent towards the consumption of locally manufactured articles.

UNESCO's flagship strategies include Priority Africa, focused on sustainable development, particularly in the fields of education, culture, science and information.