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Promotingpro-poorgrowth toachieve MDGsConference of African Ministers ofFinance, Planning and EconomicDevelopment - Fortieth Session ofthe CommissionAddis Ababa, Ethiopia2 April 2007Increasingly, the Conference of African Ministers meeting is beingseen as a credible platform for deliberation and debate on the Africandevelopment agenda. The theme of this Conference,is “AcceleratingAfrica’s Growth and Development to meet the Millennium DevelopmentGoals: Emerging Challenges and Way Forward”. When wemet in Abuja in 2005 to review Africa’s progress towards achieving theMDGs, you said in your Ministerial Statement that:“Strong political will, bold and decisive action, is needed to establishthe conditions for achieving sustained economic growth and to reducepoverty, as well as promoting sustainable development in Africa.”In 2007, barely two years since Abuja, the MDGs are again the themeof our Conference. A legitimate question would be why the MDGsagain and what has changed since then? The answer is that the boldand decisive action called for in the 2005 Ministerial Statement is yetto become a continent-wide trend. It should be noted however thatseveral countries are beginning to take steps in the required direction.This is cause for cheer.Nevertheless, there is need for urgency on our part. September 2007will mark the mid-way point on the road to 2015, the target date forachieving the MDGs. Recent assessments, including the one that wehave prepared for this Conference, indicate that although Africa is290 Part Five