1st Joint Annual Meetings of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Prime Minister Meles, I'm glad to extend my greetings to this first Joint Meeting of AU/ECA Ministers of Finance, on the occasion of the 50 th Anniversary of the Economic Commission for Africa . I congratulate Executive Secretary Abdoulie Janneh and all his colleagues at ECA on this milestone. And I thank Prime Minister Meles and the Government and people of Ethiopia for being such gracious and generous hosts to the Commission. ECA occupies a unique place on the continent, as the first intergovernmental pan-African agency and the home of Africa Hall, birthplace of the Organization of African Unity. Over these 50 years, ECA has fulfilled its mandate of promoting Africa 's social and economic development. It has generated ideas. It has helped establish other development institutions. It has addressed challenges ranging from the Millennium Development Goals to climate change, from women's empowerment to job creation, from governance to HIV/AIDS. For this gathering, you have chosen the fitting theme of Meeting Africa 's New Challenges in the 21 st Century. Together, by stepping up efforts to reach the Millennium Development Goals throughout the continent, we can and must make the 21 st century the African century. In that spirit, please accept my warmest wishes for a successful meeting. Thank you very much.
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