The widening gap between the poor and the rich calls for concerted efforts by African nations to as not to lag behind, Prime Minister, Apolo Nsibambi said yesterday.

Nsibambi, who was opening the National Conference on the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) at International Conference Centre, said that this is what Europe and Asia have done. President Yoweri Museveni will close the conference tomorrow that brought together Tanzania, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, Djibouti, Eritrea and Uganda.

"If the necessity for working together and speaking with a single voice is obvious in Europe and Asia, it should be obvious in Africa in the wake of globalisation and the widening gap between the rich and the poor nations," said Nsibambi.

He said that the partnership provides two windows of opportunity.

"The first one is to engage the developed world in supporting Africa's development initiatives. The second is the political will among African leaders to break down national barriers and move towards closer co-operation," added Nsibambi.

Through the partnership, said Nsibambi there is an opportunity for the countries to embark on a new era of partnership between Africa and the rest of the world.

"As we look at the challenges facing our continent, we see that poverty remains pervasive, opportunities for the poor and disadvantaged are minimum and the economic and social difficulties are multiplying," he said.

"The goals of poverty eradication and social and economic development are as elusive as ever. Indeed poverty remains complex. Its eradication therefore requires a well-orchestrated multi-dimensional approach."(ADF3)

Copyright 2002 Monitor Publications Ltd.