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Communique issued at the end of the Seventh Summit of the Heads of State and
Government Implementation Committee (HSGIC) of the New Partnership for Africa's
Development (NEPAD)
Abuja
Wednesday, 28 May 2003
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The Seventh Summit of the Heads of State and Government Implementation Committee (HSGIC) of
the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) was held in
Abuja, Nigeria, on Wednesday, 28 May 2003, at the invitation of
Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
and Chairman of the Committee.
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The following dignitaries attended the Summit:
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His Excellency, John Kufuor, President of the Republic of Ghana;
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His Excellency, Joaquim Alberto of Mozambique;
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His Excellency, Olusegun Obasanjo, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria;
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His Excellency, Abdoulaye Wade, President of the Republic of Senegal;
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His Excellency, Thabo Mbeki, President of the Republic of South Africa;
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His Excellency, Amadou Toumani Toure, President of the Republic of Mali;
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His Excellency, Korumba Yole, President of the Republic of Guinea Bissau;
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His Excellency, Amara Essy, Interim Chairperson, African Union Commission;
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His Excellency, Emmanuel Ondo Methogo, Vice Prime Minister, Republic of Gabon;
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His Excellency, Abdel Kader Bensalah, President of the Senate, People's Democratic Republic of Algeria;
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His Excellency Roberto Victor de Almeida, Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Angola;
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His Excellency, Mompati S.Merafhe, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Botswana;
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Honourable Anil Kurmarsingh Gayan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Co-operation of the Republic of Mauritius;
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His Excellency, Ali E. Hillal,Minister of Youth, Arab Republic of Egypt;
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His Excellency, Hamdi Hamouda, Secretary of State, Republic of Tunisia;
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His Excellency, Justin Ndioro, Minister of Special Duties at the Presidency, Republic of Cameroon;
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His Excellency, Pierre Moussa, Minister of Planning and Economic Integration, Republic of Congo;
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is Excellency, Ali Treiki, Minister of African Unity, The Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya;
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His Excellency, Charles Norigande, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Republic of Rwanda;
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His Excellency, Fisseha Yimer, Ambassador of Ethiopia to UN, Geneva;
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His Excellency, David M.Mutemi, High Commissioner of Kenya to Nigeria;
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Her Excellency, Joan Rwabyomere, High Commissioner of the Republic of Uganda to Nigeria;
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His Excellency, M. M.Matiko, High Commissioner of United Republic of Tanzania to Nigeria;
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His Excellency, Mohamed Ibn Chambas, Executive Secretary, Economic Community of West African States;
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Mr Bisi Ogunjobi, Vice-President of the African Development Bank; and
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Mr Kempe Ronald Hope, Director, Economic Commission for Africa.
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The 7th Summit of the NEPAD Heads of State and Government
Implementation Committee [HSGIC]observed a minute of silence in a
show of solidarity with the Government and people of the
People's Democratic Republic of Algeria for their immense loss as a
result of the earthquake that struck in that country several days
ago. A message of sympathy in this regard was sent by the HSGIC to
President Bouteflika.
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The Chairman of the HSGIC, President Olusegun Obasanjo,welcomed all Heads of delegation
and participants at the 7th Summit.On behalf of the Implementation
Committee, he expressed heartfelt sympathy with President Bouteflika,
the Government and people of Algeria and prayed God to give
succour to the nation and the families of the bereaved.
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He noted with satisfaction the progress already made on implementation of NEPAD and
expressed the hope that the Summit would consider and approve the
proposed membership of the initial Panel of Eminent Persons for the
African Peer Review Mechanism. He expressed absolute confidence in
the integrity of the proposed Members of the APR Panel.
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President Obasanjo also expressed the resolve of African leaders to use the forthcoming G8
Summit in Evian, France to remind the G8 leaders about the imperative
of honouring commitments in order to promote global peace, security,
stability and sustainable development. He recalled the launch
of the G8 Africa Action Plan at the G8 Summit in Kananaskis, Canada. He
added that world peace and security could only be sustained if all
nations, developed and developing, fulfil commitments and pledges
which they made voluntarily. Finally, the Chairman urged the
international community to ensure that issues concerning Africa
remain firmly on the global agenda.
Congratulatory Message on Re-election of President Obasanjo
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The HSGIC congratulated the Chairman on his re-election as
President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and wished him success
in the onerous task ahead.
Progress Report of the Chairman of NEPAD Steering Committee from March
2003 to May 2003
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The Chairman of the NEPAD Steering Committee presented his
progress report which concentrated on follow up actions from the last
HSGIC meeting, programme implementation, outreach and
partnerships. The HSGIC commended the quality of the report and the
progress made since the last Summit and requested the Chairman to
convey their appreciation to his colleagues in the NEPAD Steering
Committee.
Priority Projects on Agriculture
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The HSGIC was briefed on the main activities on agriculture of
the NEPAD Secretariat, which are geared towards supporting an
accelerated implementation of the Comprehensive African Agricultural
Development Plan (CAADP) and addressing the current food crisis
in Africa. The involvement of the Regional Economic Communities
(RECs) was a central element in this context. This action plan and
its 17 projects provide a road map through which NEPAD will address
the current crisis in Africa and kick start agricultural development
on the continent. The HSGIC approved the projects and resolved
to support implementation of the proposed priority projects on
Agriculture.
Priority Projects on Infrastructure
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The HSGIC considered the progress made on priority areas of
infrastructure development and the detailed list of priority projects
that was presented in this regard. The HSGIC undertook to facilitate
implementation of the detailed plans nationally and regionally and
endorsed the various projects identified for implementation. The
HSGIC approved the fast-tracking of the implementation of the
identified projects and requested the RECs and the ADB to work
together and develop for approval a funding or financing mechanism.
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The HSGIC observed that, while the identified infrastructure and
agriculture projects are for fast-tracking, other projects
should not be excluded. The HSGIC reconfirmed the high priority
sectors for implementation of agriculture and food security,
water and sanitation,infrastructure and ICT.
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The HSGIC acknowledged the lack of capacity in the continent
especially at the level of the Regional Economic Communities
(RECs) in formulating projects and tasked the NEPAD Steering Committee
and NEPAD Secretariat to follow up on this matter very closely.
NEPAD Trust Fund
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The HSGIC expressed appreciation to His Excellency,President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal
for proposing the plan to set up a NEPAD Trust Fund to be managed by
the African Development Bank. The HSGIC encouraged this initiative
and supported the setting up of such a Fund and tasked the Steering
Committee and Secretariat to follow up on the matter.
Support from Partners
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President Wade briefed the HSGIC on the message received from
the Prime Minister of India, about his official visit to Japan and the
letter received from the Prime Minister of Japan. The letter
contained a pledge of commitment by Japan to the development of Africa.
It dealt with concrete support and financial allocations to a number
of priority issues. It pledged the support of the TICAD process to
supporting the implementation of NEPAD. The TICAD III Summit will be
held in Tokyo, Japan from 29 September-01 October 2003. The
HSGIC thanked the Governments of Japan, India and other countries
for the support and interest shown in the NEPAD and its programmes.
NEPAD/G8 interaction at the G8 Summit in Evian, France
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The HSGIC took the opportunity to review the NEPAD/G8 partnership,
and to review progress made in the implementation of the G8 Africa
Action Plan announced in Kananaskis at the last G8 Summit in June 2002.
The HSGIC deliberated on the matters to be addressed by the
African leaders invited to attend the G8 Summit and how to maximize
the gains from the interactions with the G8 in the future. In
particular, the HSGIC discussed a number of specific issues such as
peace support operations, deadlock on trade negotiation and market
access issues, support for infrastructure projects, debt
relief, progress on MDGs, progress on implementation of G8 Africa
Action Plan etc. that are to be raised with the G8 and how to
maintain the momentum generated by NEPAD as Africa finds itself
challenged on the global agenda by other competing international
considerations. They also noted the need to maintain a system of
structured engagement with the G8.
Joint Africa/G8 Plan on Peace Support Operations
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As part of the preparation for the G8 Summit by the African
leaders, Ambassador S Djinnit, Interim Commissioner of AU
Commission briefed the HSGIC on interactions with the G8 on a Joint
Plan to enhance peace support operations. He further outlined the
African position developed at the 3rd meeting of the African Chiefs
of Defence Staff to include the adoption of a policy framework,
which essentially provides for the establishment of an AU strategic
management capability as well as five regional brigades to enable
the AU to undertake peace support operations.
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He also informed that only six AU Member States have so far
ratified the Protocol Relating to the Establishment of the Peace and
Security Council of the AU. The HSGIC once again urged Member
States particularly those Membersn of the HSGIC to urgently ratify the
Protocol, preferably by the next AU Summit in Maputo, Mozambique.
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Based on the discussions around issues for the G8 Evian Summit, the
HSGIC mandated the NEPAD Steering Committee and Secretariat to:
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revise the document prepared for African leaders invited to the
Evian Summit based on comments made;
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prepare a document regarding the achievements made by NEPAD over
the past year; and
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prepare a report on the implementation of G8 Africa Action
Plan by the G8.
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In discussing the issue of funding and support for priority
projects in Africa by the G8, the meeting decided that a clear
strategy was needed regarding the mobilization of African resources
[financial, human and institutional]. The HSGIC will reflect on this
matter more at the next meeting in Maputo on 09 July 2003.
African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) Panel of Eminent Persons
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The HSGIC noted that 15 African Union (AU) Member States have
signed the Memorandum of Understanding of the African Peer
Review Mechanism (APRM) namely Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon,
Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique,
Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa and Uganda. The Chairman
invited other AU Member States to consider acceding to the process as
a demonstration of their commitment to accept best practices in
political, economic and corporate governance in Africa.
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The HSGIC recalled that the Chairman was mandated, at the last
Summit, to undertake consultations with the Representatives of each
region on the HSGIC, on the appointment of the Chairperson and
members of the Panel of Eminent Persons.
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The HSGIC took note that the Chairperson consulted widely and
received many nominations from various sources, including AU
Member States, which have acceded to the APRM. Six candidates were
approved by the HSGIC as initial Members of the APR Panel as
follows:
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Professor Adebayo Adedeji -West Africa
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Professor Kiplagat - East Africa
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Dr Graca Machel - Southern Africa
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Ms Dorothy Njeuma - Central Africa
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Ms Marie-Angelique Savane - West Africa
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Mr C Stals - Southern Africa
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The Chairman was further mandated to consult on equal
regional representation and on the appointment of the Chairperson of
the APR Panel.
Formal Integration of NEPAD into AU structures and processes
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Pursuant to the decision of the Inaugural Summit of the AU on the
review of NEPAD and the decision of the 5th Summit of the HSGIC, the
Chairman of the NEPAD Steering Committee reported on the progress
on the Study on the "Formal Integration of NEPAD into AU
structures and processes"commissioned jointly by the NEPAD
Secretariat and AU Commission.
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The HSGIC decided to consider the matter again at their next
meeting in Maputo in light of the outcomes of the Study and make its
recommendations on integration to the 2nd Ordinary Session of the
Assembly of the AU.
Co-ordination of NEPAD Activities
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The HSGIC noted that all international engagements and
involvement on initiatives with relevance to NEPAD by Heads of
State and Government should be communicated to the Chairman of the
NEPAD Steering Committee for co-ordination purposes.
Attendance at HSGIC Meetings
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The HSGIC mandated the Chairman and the two Deputy Chairmen to
officially write to all Members of the HSGIC requesting them to attend
meetings of the HSGIC regularly, to remind them of their obligations to
the HSGIC and demonstrate their commitment and obligations not only
to their national governments but also to the sub-regions they
represent.
Appreciation
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The HSGIC expressed its profound appreciation to President
Olusegun Obasanjo, the Government and people of Nigeria for the
hospitality and excellent arrangements, which facilitated the
success of the Meeting.
Date and Venue of the Next HSGIC Summit
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The HSGIC decided that its next meeting would be held in Maputo,
Mozambique on 09 July 2003 at 1400 hrs before the 2nd Ordinary Session
of the Assembly of the African Union. It was agreed that no formal
invitations would be sent for the meeting.
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