Addis Ababa — Finance ministers from several African countries meet Monday at the United Nations Conference Centre in Addis Ababa with their Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) counterparts from Development Cooperation Ministries for informal consultations aimed at facilitating the exchange of views on selected development themes of importance to Africa.
The first 'Big Table', an initiative of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), is a one-day meeting, with a format and agenda designed to allow maximum interactive dialogue on three broad clusters of issues related to national poverty reduction strategies: Pro-Poor Growth Policies and the International Development Goals; the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) Process: What we have learned to date; and Emerging Capacity Building Needs.
African participants include Ministerial representatives from Ethiopia, Guinea, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. From the OECD, participants include the Ministers of Development Cooperation and senior representatives of Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Senior representatives of the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), African Development Bank (ADB) and Development Assistance Committee of the OECD will also take part.
The format is unique. There will be no formal statements. The idea is to encourage frank exchange among invitees. The agenda includes three sessions organized around the three clusters of issues. Two speakers - one from Africa and one from the OECD - will introduce each session with brief remarks, each highlighting the relevant issues from the perspectives of recipients and donors respectively.
"This promises to be an exciting opportunity for a candid exchange of views among Ministers from Africa and OECD countries on the emerging new aid relations anchored around the PRSP", says ECA Executive Secretary, Mr. K.Y. Amoako. "Based on the outcome of tomorrow's meeting, we hope to organize a Big Table meeting every year, as we think it is an important informal forum to address the key issues mediating the donor-recipient relationship in an environment that is really conducive to frank, straight talking."
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For further information, please contact: The Communication Team Economic Commission for Africa P.O. Box 3001 Addis Ababa Ethiopia Tel: +251-1-44 50 98 or +251-1-44 31 61 Fax: +251-1-51 03 65 Cell: +251-9-20 17 94 E-mail: ecainfo@uneca.org
