NEPAD Celebrates Tenth Anniversary

Malabo, June 29, 2011 - The tenth anniversary of the New Partnership for Africa's Development ( NEPAD) was celebrated during the 25th Summit of the Heads of State and Government Orientation Committee (HSGOC), on Wednesday, June 29, on the sidelines of the 17th African Union (AU) Summit.

Holding under the chairmanship of Mr Meles Zenawi, Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and Chairperson of HSGOC, the Heads of State and Government exchanged views on the innovative solutions to increase domestic resources to achieve a greater number of programs and the promoting of public-private partnership. It is in this light that President Abdelaziz Bouteflika of Algeria, President Jacob Zuma of South Africa, President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria and Mr. Nahas Angula, Prime Minister of Namibia, took the floor respectively to present their contribution.

In his opening address, President Teodoro Obiang Nguema of Equatorial Guinea and President of the AU expressed satisfaction with the progress made by NEPAD Agency although he said much still has to be done. He encouraged the NEPAD Agency to explore more avenues aimed at providing concrete development of the continent.

Meanwhile, Mr. Jean Ping, Chairperson of the AU Commission, outlined the process from the establishment of NEPAD to its integration into the structures of the AU in January 2010. The financial establishment of a coordination unit within the Office of Chairperson Ping and the adoption of the new structure of the NEPAD Agency should facilitate and enable the NEPAD Agency to carry out its new mandate. (see full speech of Chairperson Ping on the AU Website: www.africa-union.org [2] .

Explaining the essence of the 25th Summit of the HSGOC summit, Dr Mayaki, the Chief Executive Officer of NEPAD Agency reflected on the first ten years of the agency and said that there were lessons to be learnt in order to appreciate the future.

Several authorities including President Thomas Yayi Boni of Benin and the Commissioners of the AU attended the Summit HSGOC.

For more information, please visit the Special web page of the AU at the following link: http://www.au.int/en/summit/17thsummit [3]