MEETING OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE
AFRICAN MINISTERIAL COUNCIL ON WATER (AMCOW)
ADDIS ABABA 29-30 JUNE 2005
Statement of the Representative of the
Department of Agriculture and Rural Economy of the Commission
of the African Union at the Opening Ceremony
Mr. Chairman,
Ministers and Representatives of the Government of the Federal
Republic of Ethiopia,
Excellencies Representatives of Diplomatic Missions and Regional
and International Organizations,
Distinguished delegates and Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
First of all allow me to express my profound
gratitude as well as that of the entire African Union to the people
and the Government of Ethiopia and to the AMCOW Secretariat for
the invitation addressed to the Commission of the African Union
who is heartened by the opportunity offered to it to participate
in these important meeting of your Council. The authorities of
the Department of Agriculture and Rural Economy of the Commission,
recipients of the invitation, having prior engagements, have asked
me to express the AU Commission’s keen interest in your
deliberations, this because of the convergence of the agenda items
of your meeting with some of the specific priority activities
contained in the Department’s strategic action plan for
2005.
Indeed, guided by the mandate entrusted
to it by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government through
the Syrte Declaration on the “challenges of integrated and
sustainable development of agriculture and water resources in
Africa”, the Department has fixed as priority objectives
a certain number of activities that are in line with the objectives
pursued by your Council namely:
- Encouraging the finalization of bilateral
agreements on water resources by supporting the Regional Economic
Communities in finalizing the appropriate regional agreements
contained in the directives for the integrated management of water
resources. On the one hand, strengthening the existing river and
lake basins implementation organizations and creating where necessary,
new organizations….and on the other hand “support
the African Ministerial Council on Water (AMCOW) in its role to
develop plans and policies relative water resource management
on the continent and contribute in adapting the mandates, structures
and activities of AMCOW, the African Ministerial Conference on
the Environment and the African Ministerial Conference on Agriculture
in order to integrate them into the activities of the Commission
of the African Union and its Specialized Technical Committees”.
For trans-boundary water management technical
issues, the Department has already launched two concrete actions
namely: the development of the TDR study on the strengthening
of existing basin management organizations in Africa and the creation
of new ones where these do not exist and the development of a
model cooperation agreement in Trans-boundary Water Resources
Management.
Prior to submission for consideration by
your Council, experts from our states will duly share the expected
results of the activities. It is understood that in the program
of activities just as in all other activities, African Union’s
major role will be to promote and harmonize development policies
and strategies, mobilize resources as well as monitoring and coordinating
the implementation of those activities.
With regard to the issue of AMCOW institutionalization,
the meeting of your technical committee that has just ended was
amply informed on the measures and activities particularly consultations,
undertaken by the Commission and will surely submit to you the
specific recommendations that have come out of its fruitful deliberations.
In any case, allow me Mr. Chairman, to
say that the Department is conscious of its responsibility to
carry out successfully this mandate as enacted by the Syrte Declaration
and is henceforth resolved to work in close collaboration with
your Council for a successful outcome of this institutionalization.
The disposition and the true collaboration we have received up
to now from your bureau but also from our partner, particularly
UNEP, make us more committed. Naturally, this gives me the opportunity
to thank these partners for this opening and to urge them to persevere
in strengthening the partnership spirit as enacted by NEPAD for
a rapid integrated development of our Continent.
It is only this price that the great hopes
raised by the launching of NEPAD and the new Vision of the African
Union that the fight for poverty reduction and food security of
the Continent could be rapidly achieved.
I wish your Council success and I thank
you for kind attention.
