ECA and NEPAD Secretariat to assess status of their collaboration

Addis Ababa, 27 March 2007: A high-level ECA delegation led by the Acting Deputy Executive Secretary, Ms. Josephine Ouedraogo, today left for Johannesburg for a two-day review meeting with the NEPAD Secretariat on the status of implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two institutions.

ECA and the NEPAD Secretariat signed the MoU in September 2006 to advance joint efforts in support of the implementation of NEPAD. Some areas of focus outlined in the MOU include joint and strategic research, resource mobilization, capacity development, communication outreach and advocacy as well as the establishment of a liaison office between ECA and the NEPAD Secretariat.

In addition to these key focus areas, ECA provides support for NEPAD initiatives such as the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP), ICT, trade negotiation, infrastructure, water, and the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM).

The review exercise will provide an opportunity to take stock and scale up collaborative efforts to achieve more results on the ground. It will address key NEPAD-related issues including: outcomes of the 7th Regional Consultation meeting, gender, civil society, leadership, and communication advocacy.

“We hope to maintain the same cooperative spirit that we have developed with the NEPAD Secretariat so far, and intensify ECA’s support to the implementation of NEPAD within the framework of the regional consultation mechanism of the UN,” says Emmanuel Nnadozie, Senior Economic Affairs Officer and Chief, NEPAD Support Unit at ECA.

ECA’s recent efforts in support of NEPAD include the organization of a workshop on “Developing a capacity-building strategy for Africa”, which is linked to the economic governance component of the APRM.

The Commission also provided substantive inputs to the brainstorming meeting of the NEPAD Heads of State and Government Implementation Committee, which was held in Algiers on 21 March 2007.