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Forging aseamlesspartnershipwith theAfrican UnionStatement at the Eighth OrdinarySession of the Executive Councilof the African UnionKhartoum, Sudan20 January 2006also am pleased that this opportunity has arisen so soon after II have assumed office as Executive Secretary of the Economic Commissionfor Africa (ECA). I wish to take this opportunity to thank eachone of you and your respective governments, for the encouragementand support you have expressed to me since my appointment. I havecome to ECA from the United Nations Development Programmme(UNDP) – a sister United Nations institution that is a key and committedpartner to Africa. While at UNDP I was privileged to work closelywith African countries in support of their development agenda as Idid with the African Union Commission, particularly with the Chairpersonand Commissioners, in supporting capacity building for institutionaltransformation as well as the AU Peace and Security Agenda.Through this collaboration and with the leadership of the Commission,we were able to build a strong partnership in support of Africa’sdevelopment initiatives. That experience confirmed in me the convictionthat strong and clear leadership in Africa is critical to buildingeffective partnerships for addressing Africa’s development priorities.It is my intention to build on this broad and positive experience andto bring ECA and AU into closer partnership and upscale collaborationbetween the two organisations. This renewed partnership willtake full advantage of the favourable factors of our shared vision andmandate, as well as our co-location in Addis Ababa, to effectively accompanyAfrica as it strives to achieve development.Integrating Africa139