Addis Ababa, 27 July 2001 (ECA) -- The third African Development Forum (ADF 2001) organized by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), will take place from 9 - 13 December 2001 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, under the theme "Defining  Priorities for Regional Integration".

This year's theme was chosen in light of the coming into force of the African Union (AU), which represents a historic opportunity to accelerate regional  integration. The Forum will reflect on the experience in Africa as well as other  regions with regional integration, identify the priorities and policy options  for accelerating regional integration in Africa, and elaborate the necessary  steps for economic and monetary union in the African setting.

ADF 2001 will bring together a wide spectrum of stakeholders -- government,  parliaments, business, finance, labour, civil society, international  organizations and the Diaspora -- to discuss these issues, refine options and  seek consensus on the way ahead. Experts from different parts of the world will  also be invited to share their experiences in regional integration.

The Forum will reflect on Africa's historic initiatives for political and  economic unity and examine regional integration experiences from other regions; consolidate lessons learned and identify best practices: and define priorities  and strategic actions needed to accelerate regional integration.

Drawing on the political impetus from the coming in to force of the African Union, ADF 2001 will help galvanize a broad-based inclusive process to harmonize and accelerate integration efforts in the continent and build consensus around the key strategic actions that need to be taken.

The Forum will be built around five thematic clusters: Economic Policies for Accelerating Regional Integration; Physical Integration through Infrastructure Development; Regional Approaches to Regional Issues; Institutional Arrangements and Capacity; and the Peace and Security Architecture.

The conclusions and recommendations of ADF 2001 will be conveyed, through the OAU, to the Summit of Heads of State and Government, due to be held in Pretoria,South Africa, in July 2002. Africa's leaders will be asked to consider the  outcomes of ADF 2001 as a contribution towards concretizing the African Union implementation agenda.

The ADF has gained recognition as an effective forum for informed dialogue and consensus building on key African development challenges, and for agreeing on  implementation priorities and strategies at national, sub-regional and regional  levels. ADF 1999 focused on ways to accelerate the information revolution in  Africa and ADF 2000 on Africa's leadership challenge to manage the crisis of HIV/AIDS.

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More information is available on the ADF Web site at: www.uneca.org/adf2001.

For details on how to participate, please contact
Mr. Peter Robleh,
Coordinator, ADF 2001 Secretariat,
Economic Commission for Africa,
P.O. Box 3001,
Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia,
Tel: +251-1-44 52 27,
Fax: +251-1-51 65 63/ 51 30 38,
E-mail: probleh@uneca.org

For media participation and related issues, contact
Peter da Costa,
Tel: +251-1-51 58 26,
Fax: +251-1-51 03 65,
E-mail: pdacosta@uneca.org