Communiqué at end of Inaugural Meeting

Implementation Committee of Heads of State and Government on the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD)
23 October 2001
Abuja, Nigeria

The inaugural meeting of the Implementation Committee of Heads of State and Government on the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), hitherto known as the New African Initiative, was held in Abuja, Nigeria, on 23 October 2001. The Meeting was attended by the following dignitaries:

1. His Excellency, Abdelaziz Bouteflika
   President of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria;
2. His Excellency, Mr. Meles Zenawi
   Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia;
3. His Excellency, El-Hadj Omar Bongo
   President of the Republic of Gabon;
4. His Excellency, Mr. Alpha Oumar Konare
   President of the Republic of Mali;
5. His Excellency, Mr. Joaquim Alberto Chissano
   President of the Republic of Mozambique;
6. His Excellency, Olusegun Obasanjo
   President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria;
7. His Excellency, Mr. Fradique de Menezes
   President of the Republic of Sao Tome and Principe;
8. His Excellency, Mr. Abdoulaye Wade
   President of the Republic of Senegal;
9. His Excellency, Mr. Thabo Mbeki
   President of the Republic of South Africa;
10. His Excellency, Mr. Ahmed El-Dorsh
    Minister of Planning and International Cooperation of the Arab Republic of Egypt;
11. Honourable Hackman Owusu-Agyemang, MP
    Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Ghana;
12. His Excellency, Mr. Abdul Lateef Saddem Minister of Economic Development of the Republic of Tunisia;
13. His Excellency, Mr. Donald Kaberuka,
    Minister of Finance and Economic Planning of the Republic of Rwanda;
14. Her Excellency, Mrs. Joan Rwabyomere
    High Commissioner of Uganda to Nigeria;
15. Mr. Cisco Mtiro
    Acting High Commissioner of Tanzania to Nigeria; and
16. His Excellency, Mr. Lawrence Agubuzu
    Assistant Secretary-General of OAU.

2. The UNECA and the ADB were also represented by their officials. The meeting welcomed the message from the Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr. Kofi Annan, wherein he expressed wholehearted support for the renewed partnership between Africa and the International community, based on African ownership and leadership.

3. His Excellency, President Olusegun Obasanjo, who presided over the meeting, in his capacity as the Chairman of the Implementation Committee, addressed the gathering on the history of the initiative. He drew attention to the prevailing environment in Africa, marked by, among other things, the emergence of a leadership in Africa that is committed to economic renaissance of the continent, as encapsulated in the New African Initiative programme.

4. The Chairman also briefed the Implementation Committee on the meetings held between the G8 and selected African leaders at Chequers, United Kingdom in September 2001; and the EU and Africa in Brussels, Belgium in October 2001 respectively, during which the New African Initiative was endorsed by the European partners. The Committee took note of the briefing and expressed satisfaction with this report.

5. Considering the need to ensure the speedy take-off of the Initiative and to put its implementation on a sound footing, the Meeting considered the Report of the Steering Committee, with regard to the various mechanisms for the implementation of the new Initiative, and approved the following:

1. The revised New African Initiative Document (October 2001 edition), embodying the philosophy, priorities and implementation modalities of the Initiative. The English version, as adopted, shall be the original text;
   
   
2. The official name of the initiative as the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD);
   
   
3. The Governing Structure of NEPAD, which is composed of an Implementation Committee of Heads of State and Government; a Steering Committee and a Secretariat. A detailed Organogram reflecting this structure was also adopted;
   
   
4. The Implementation Committee, with President Obasanjo as Chairman and Presidents A. Bouteflika and A. Wade as Vice Chairmen respectively, will meet once in every four months. It also reaffirmed its composition, in accordance with the decision of the Lusaka Summit of the OAU in July 2001;
   
   
5. The location of a co-coordinating NEPAD Secretariat, with a very small staff, in Pretoria, South Africa, as well as sources of funding for its operation;
   
   
6. That the Steering Committee should develop a strategic plan for marketing NEPAD at national, sub-regional, regional and international levels, with the aim of mobilizing domestic support and facilitating private-public sector partnership in Africa as well as enhancing international partnership. The plan will be considered at the next meeting of the Implementation Committee;
   
   
7. The establishment of Task Teams/Lead Agencies to urgently identify and prepare specific implementable projects and programmes as follows:
   1. Capacity-building on Peace and Security /OAU;
   2. Economic and Corporate Governance/UNECA;
   3. Infrastructure/ADB;
   4. Central Bank and Financial Standards/ADB;
   5. Agriculture and Market Access/ OAU; and
      
      
8. The Steering Committee to continue preparations for the proposed conference on Financing NEPAD in Dakar, Senegal in January 2002. The details of this conference will be worked out in consultations with Senegal.

6. The Committee agreed that African leaders should set up parameters for Good Governance to guide their activities at both the political and economic levels. In this regard, it decided that, at its next meeting, it will consider and adopt an appropriate peer review mechanism and a code of conduct. The Committee also expressed the hope that Africa's development partners will complement these efforts by playing their own part.

7. The Implementation Committee also reaffirmed its conviction that peace and security are necessary pre-conditions for sustainable development. It, therefore, decided to set-up a sub-committee on Peace and Security to focus on conflict management, prevention and resolution in Africa, particularly within the context of NEPAD process. The members of this Sub-Committee are Algeria, Gabon, Mali and Mauritius, with South Africa as its Chairman. The Sub-Committee will report to the next meeting of the Implementation Committee.

8. The Committee decided that all other initiatives promoted by individual African countries should be subsumed under the NEPAD process, to represent a basis on which Africa can collectively and effectively cooperate with its development partners.

9. On the international political environment, the Meeting reviewed the danger posed to international peace and security by terrorism, including its negative impact on socio-economic development of Africa and the New African Initiative process. It agreed that concerted international action should continue to be taken against this growing menace, while ensuring that the issue of underdevelopment in Africa is not ignored.

10. Finally, the Meeting expressed its deep appreciation to President Olusegun Obasanjo, the Government and people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for the warm and brotherly hospitality extended to the entire delegates, including the impressive facilities put at their disposal, which greatly facilitated the success of the Meeting.

Issued at Abuja on 23rd of October 2001