Over 150 representatives of member states of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) will convene in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire from June 8-10, 2015 to take stock of the two blocs' efforts towards economic integration and regional development results in Africa.

These delegates will attend the second Africa for Results (AfriK4R) Forum and seventh Annual Meeting of the African Community of Practice on Managing for Development Results (AfCoP-MfDR), which will examine the landscape of challenges, opportunities and trends, related to Africa's regional integration agenda. Initial insights from country and regional assessments and activities under AfCoP's flagship AfriK4R initiative will also be presented.

The goal of the AfriK4R initiative is to build African MfDR capacity through sharing experiences and development solutions for results, networking and building strong learning relationships with MfDR practitioners in Africa and around the world. It also aims to enhance the capacity of the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and their member countries to facilitate the implementation of regional policies and programs by using results-oriented approaches, thereby promoting regional integration and development results.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) in partnership with the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF), WAEMU and COMESA, launched the AfriK4R regional communities of practice in April 2012 and May 2012, respectively.

Stakeholders from the public sector, civil society, parliamentary bodies, private sector, media and academia will explore best practice and knowledge on regional integration and managing for development results, while mapping out a plan for consolidated efforts towards policy convergence public financial management, enhanced business climates and trade facilitation. Two online results platforms for the COMESA and WAEMU communities of practice will also be introduced to facilitate knowledge sharing and collaboration between member states.

The three-day event is organized by the African Community of Practice (AfCoP), housed within the Quality and Results Department of the Bank, in partnership with ACBF.

For further information on the AfriK4R initiative and AfCoP, visit the AfCoP Website: www.afrik4r.org

The African Community of Practice (AfCoP) is a coalition of over 4500 development leaders and practitioners from 68 countries globally. AfCoP members work for African governments, civil society, and as independent experts in the field. The African Development Bank (AfDB), in partnership with the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF), is supporting AfCoP in mainstreaming MfDR on the continent with a focus on regional integration.

The Africa for Results (AfriK4R) initiative, is a AfCoP's flagship program, aims to promote regional integration in Africa through the use of managing for development results (MfDR) principles and practices. To date, 17 countries have committed to the AfriK4R initiative, namely Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cote d'Ivoire, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The WAEMU and COMESA regional economic communities are also partners on the AfriK4R initiative.