As the New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad), the blueprint for the continent's development marks 10 years, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) convened a panel to reflect on Nepad's achievements and challenges in advancing Africa 's development.

If we look at Nepad, the focus has been on strategic thinking, planning and coherence in resource mobilisation

Speaking at the panel discussion on trade and development in Africa, in Geneva, Switzerland, Chief Executive Officer of the Nepad Agency, Dr Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, explained that Nepad has played a crucial part in the steady progress made by the continent, both in terms of democratisation and development.

"If we look at Nepad, the focus has been on strategic thinking, planning and coherence in resource mobilisation. There has also been an emphasis on proper governance and management of public resources, with effective tools such as those provided by the Africa Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). Today African countries are quite well managed," said Dr Mayaki.

Participants at the conference, who included Ambassadors from Gabon, Rwanda, Algeria, Tunisia and Nigeria, called on Nepad to accelerate regional integration, technology, economic progress, peace and mobilise local funds to deepen gains recorded in the past ten years.

In his remarks, UNCTAD Special Coordinator for Africa Kamran Kousari stressed that Nepad must reduce aid-dependency and focus on domestic resource mobilisation for sustainable development. Africa's leaders must renew their commitments to mobilise adequate financial resources for Nepad, he said.

At the end of the session the participants agreed that the relevance and success of Nepad depends on the extent to which African leaders, the African people and particularly civil society and development partners are involved in the process of implementing Nepad.

Nepad is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year - a landmark in progress and achievement and a time for pause and reflection, according to Mayaki.