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IntroductionOn account of the weight of his office, any statement delivered bythe Executive Secretary of the ECA, in his official capacity, is animportant one. Such a statement is a significant policy document becauseit is always the product of long institutional hours of research,consultation, reflection and planning, backed by the weight and insightof the United Nations.The Commission’s dual profile as the Africa regional arm of the UNand—along with the African Union (AU) and African DevelopmentBank (AfDB) —as one of the key continental institutions, has since itsestablishment in 1958 invested it with prominence in the advocacyand support of African development issues.This role has been further boosted in recent times by the agenda ofthe African Union’s New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NE-PAD), the strong support of the international community through theMillennium Development Goals (MDGs) and other frameworks, andthe strategic repositioning by the Commission to enable it best supportthe development aspirations and efforts of African nations.This emerging profile has conferred on ECA a growing responsibilityand authority in advancing the Africa development agenda, and onthe Executive Secretary an even more powerful voice wherever hespoke. As the United Nations, in its reform process, has sought moreIntegrating Africa3