H.E. Dr. Amoako,
Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa,
H.E. Mr. Amara Essy,
Secretary-General of the Organization of African Unity,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It gives me particular pleasure to welcome you all to Addis Ababa to participate in the African Development Forum (ADF) which has now become an important annual occasion for exchanging views among stakeholders on critical issues affecting Africa's development.

I would like to express my appreciation to Dr. Amoako, and Mr . Amara Essy, for their joint effort in organizing this important Forum designed to bring together a wide spectrum of participants. I wish also to thank all those who have been working so hard towards the success of this Forum.

Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I wish to emphasize the great importance I personally attach to this Forum. This is the third time that the ADF has chosen timely and pertinent themes for dialogue and for building consensus on priority strategic issues for the development of Africa. I have had a very welcome opportunity of participating in both previous Forums organized by the ECA under its able Executive Secretary, Dr. Amoako. I have no doubt in my mind that the ADF is becoming a key forum for debate and for exchanging views on themes critical for Africa's development.

The theme for ADF III could not have been chosen better, and I wish to commend the organizers of the Forum for prodding us to focus on all issues that need to be raised as we move towards regional integration.

This is the premier political and economic challenge that Africans are facing today. At the highest political level in the continent, we have committed ourselves to the maximum practical level of economic and, political integration. There can be no other meaning for the Constitutive Act of the African Union, which we have embraced.

All successful efforts at regional integration have been underpinned by political will, not merely expressed in documents, but of no less importance, by practical commitment in carrying out obligations assumed by Governments and political leaders. If Africa is to succeed in this exercise, this is a lesson that we cannot ignore.

I wish to assure you that here in Ethiopia we will continue to be committed to regional integration and to African Unity. We do so not only because of our dedication to the unity of our continent, but also because of our conviction that this is also in the interest of Ethiopia, as it is in the interest of all countries at the individual level. We are at the same time not unmindful of the unique role of Ethiopia as the birthplace of African Unity in an institutional form.

Our unflinching commitment to peace likewise emanates, inter alia, from this commitment because we realize that without peace all our dreams for development and integration will remain unfulfilled. Therefore, peace building and peace making should continue to be an integral part of our integration agenda.

Excel1encles,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Africa is bound to be unique in the experience it will be having in the process of integration. Though endowed with enormous assets that form the basis for integration, Africa is nonetheless very much short of those critically important human and infrastructural capital that need to form the foundation for effective integration. This makes the integration we require, as a matter of survival in its most literal sense, appear so complex and so forbiddingly an uphill struggle. This is why, among other things, we need this kind of forum, and why I said earlier that one could not have chosen a better theme for the ADF III.

Moreover, Excellencies and Ladies and Gentlemen, we do not need to try to rediscover the wheel all the time. Though Africa's experience might be unique, there are experiences and benchmarks that apply to all, poor or rich, or whether they are from the North or from the South. There are those who have succeeded in regional integration. How they have made it, are experiences that we need to draw lessons from.

Inter-governmental forums and gatherings may not always be the appropriate venue for broaching seemingly unorthodox and uncomfortable but unavoidable issues. Here lies the value of forums such as this one.

We here in Africa are at present at a very important phase in the process of regional integration. It is a period of transition. We are leaving the OAU behind us. We are embarking on a much more ambitious project of realizing the African Union. We need to avoid pitfalls and take advantage of available opportunities. All this requires, not only commitment, but also a clear and informed vision as well as realistically designed priorities.

This is where your contribution would be so vital and has no substitute. It is in light of all this and with firm conviction of how important this Forum is that I wish you a successful deliberation, and to those who have come from outside Ethiopia, a pleasant stay in Addis Ababa.