The Committee on Natural Resources and Science and Technology (CNRST) was created in April 1996, subsequent to a decision of the Conference of African Ministers Responsible for Economic and Social Development and Planning (meets every 2 years to review and approve UNECA's work programme and budget) to create new structures and organs to deal with Africa's development issues . CNRST is a statutory organ of the above referred Conference of Ministers of Planning and it subsumes the functions of the Conference of African Ministers Responsible for Mining and Energy and the African Regional Conference on Science and Technology. The last meeting of the conference of ministers of mining and energy was held in Durban in November 1997.

CNRST is composed of high level experts from governments, academia, R&D institutions, private sector and NGO's, meets on a biennial basis and serves as a forum for the promotion of co-operation, exchange of information and sharing of experiences in the area of natural resources, science and technology among African countries. It also assists in providing advice on those fields to the member states and to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) on ways to strengthen its support to member states.

The first CNRST was held in November 1999 here in Addis.

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