Pre-ADF III Events: Meetings of African Union Symposium, Transport Experts

3 March 2002
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United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (Addis Ababa)
press release

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia — ECA Press Release No. 04/2002

A symposium on the African Union (AU) kicked off this morning as a prelude to the Third African Development Forum (ADF III), which begins in earnest tomorrow under the theme 'Defining Priorities for Regional Integration'.

Hosted by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and facilitated by the Inter Africa Group (IAG), the symposium provides an opportunity to clarify the status, process and objectives of the establishment of the AU, to obtain input from a range of stakeholders, and chart the way forward.

The symposium is clustered around three themes: Peace, Security and Human Rights; Economic Integration; and institutional arrangements for the AU Commission.

Speakers at this morning's opening ceremony included Mr. Amara Essy, Secretary General of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), Mr. K.Y. Amoako, Executive Secretary of ECA, and Mr. Abdul Mohammed of IAG. Former OAU Secretary General Dr. Salim Ahmed Salim chaired the opening session. More than 400 representatives of governments and civil society are participating in the symposium, which is being held in the historic Africa Hall, the place where the agreement creating the OAU was signed in 1963.

Experts also began their meeting today in preparation for the 12th meeting of the Conference of African Ministers of Transport and Communication, organized by ECA's Regional Co-operation and Integration Division, which will take place on Wednesday 6 March. An ICTs workshop on electronic commerce and Internet governance is also among pre-ADF III activities taking place today.

ADF III will bring together a wide spectrum of stakeholders -- government, parliaments, business, finance, labour, civil society, international organizations and the Diaspora, including experts from different part of the world -- to discuss the milestones, bring clarity to the issues and chart the future of Africa's regional integration.

ADF III starts with an official opening ceremony on the afternoon of Monday 4 March, to be addressed by Ethiopian Prime Minister Mr. Meles Zenawi, OAU Secretary General Mr. Amara Essy, and African Development Bank President Mr. Omar Kabbaj. Plenary sessions then follow on the main themes, featuring presentations and discussions led by prominent figures and leading specialists in regional integration. The third plenary session, titled 'Assessing Economic Integration in Africa', will feature the unveiling of preliminary findings of a major regional integration research project undertaken by ECA.

A highlight of the week will be a Heads of States Forum on Thursday 7 March, where representatives of stakeholder focus groups will have the opportunity to ask the attending Heads of State and Government how they believe integration should proceed in Africa. Heads of State scheduled to attend include President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa and President Laurent Gbagbo of Cote D'Ivoire.

The final session on Friday 8 March will include presentations by Nobel Laureates Prof. Wole Soyinka and Prof. Robert Mundell. The outcomes of ADF III will be disseminated in the form of a Consensus Statement, which will be available late on Friday at the end of the Forum.

A number of special events are also planned to maximize the value of ADF III as a knowledge- sharing opportunity, including an exhibition of products and services from 4 - 7 March 2002. The exhibition will feature the Transport, Water Management, Power Management, Banking and Finance, Security, Health and Communications sectors, as well as exhibits reflecting on the peace and security architecture of Africa. More than 30 exhibitors, from Africa, India, and Europe, are expected to participate in this year's exhibition, the third of its kind since the ADF started in 1999. [ADF3]

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- Documents related to the AU Symposium, The Conference of Transport Ministers and ADF III are available at www.uneca.org/adfiii

- To join the ongoing ECA on-line discussion on regional integration, send a blank e-mail to adf3@lyris.bellanet.org and you'll receive an automated response explaining next steps. For archives of the discussion, go to http://www.bellanet.org/adf/2002/

- To take part in the ongoing AllAfrica.com discussion, go to http://allafrica.com/specials/adf/

- For more information, send a message to ecainfo@uneca.org

Issued by the Communication Team

ECA, P.O. Box 3001, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Tel: +251-1-44 50 98 or 44 31 61

Fax: +251-1-51 03 65

E-mail: ecainfo@uneca.org

Web: www.uneca.org

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