Addis Ababa — Effective implementation of the new development cooperation agenda will be the subject of the third Big Table, an informal consultation between Finance ministers from several African countries and their counterparts from Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) development co-operation ministries, to take place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 18 - 19 January 2003.
Finance and Planning ministers from 11 African countries -- Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Lesotho, Mali, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia and Uganda -- are scheduled to attend the Big Table. OECD development co-operation ministers and heads of aid agencies will attend from 10 countries -- Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
The Big Table is an initiative designed by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) to promote frank, constructive dialogue between African finance ministers and their OECD counterparts. The format and agenda are designed to allow for maximum interactive dialogue, with no formal statements.
This year's discussions will focus on approaches to monitoring the performance of Africa and its partners towards meeting shared goals in the context of mutual accountability.
The notion of mutual accountability is a hallmark of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) and a manifestation of its appeal for a new "compact" between Africa and its external partners. This compact calls for African countries to undertake the political and economic reforms needed to place their economies on a path towards sustainable growth. In turn, external partners would invest -- through aid, debt relief, and market access -- the resources needed to help African countries in this effort.
The foundations for mutual accountability are the principles of open, accountable governance under NEPAD, the principles of good governance of aid as now incorporated in the Monterrey Consensus, and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The last Big Table took place in Amsterdam in October 2001 hosted by the then Dutch Development Co-operation Minister Eveline Herfkens and considered key issues relating to the operationalizing of a new African development cooperation framework. The first Big Table was held at the ECA headquarters in Addis Ababa, and discussed Pro-Poor Growth Policies and the MDGs, lessons learned from the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) process, and Emerging Capacity Building Needs. The first Big Table is credited with placing the focus on transforming Africa's development relationship with its partners.
