A Decade of NEPAD - Economic Commission for Africa - uneca
A Decade of NEPAD - Economic Commission for Africa - uneca
A Decade of NEPAD - Economic Commission for Africa - uneca
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legitimate rights and interests <strong>of</strong> the developing countries;<br />
and<br />
ӹ Open dialogue with the rest <strong>of</strong> the world to learn from<br />
and draw upon advanced achievements <strong>of</strong> the presentday<br />
civilizations, while vigorously promoting South-<br />
South and North-South dialogue with countries in other<br />
regions <strong>of</strong> the world in pursuit <strong>of</strong> common development<br />
and in an ef<strong>for</strong>t to benefit from the opportunities presented<br />
by globalization.<br />
Following the 2004 AASROC Summit in Durban, the 2005<br />
Asian-<strong>Africa</strong>n Summit was held in Jakarta from the 21-23<br />
April, 2005 with the aim that the Summit would further<br />
enable the two regions to build a solid resilient framework<br />
<strong>for</strong> inter-regional dialogue and cooperation. Out <strong>of</strong> this<br />
summit the members <strong>of</strong> the AASROC launched the “New<br />
Asian-<strong>Africa</strong>n Strategic Partnership (NAASP)”.<br />
Delegates recognized <strong>NEPAD</strong> as “the <strong>Africa</strong>n Union’s<br />
programme <strong>for</strong> poverty reduction, socio-economic development<br />
and growth” and pledged support <strong>for</strong> its implementation.<br />
While also acknowledging the momentum <strong>of</strong> the<br />
more bilateral initiatives <strong>of</strong> TICAD, FOCAC, India-<strong>Africa</strong><br />
Cooperation, the Brunei – Dar es Salaam Non-aligned<br />
Movement <strong>for</strong> South -South Cooperation, the Vietnam-<br />
<strong>Africa</strong> Business Forum, the Korea-<strong>Africa</strong> Forum, the Smart<br />
Partnership Initiative, and the Langkawi International<br />
Dialogue, the delegates also stressed the importance <strong>of</strong><br />
streamlining and aligning existing initiatives <strong>for</strong> coherence<br />
and maximum benefit to avoid duplication.<br />
Bilateral Support<br />
In addition to the support that exists <strong>for</strong> <strong>NEPAD</strong> from the<br />
multilateral community, a number <strong>of</strong> individual countries<br />
have been strong bilateral supporters <strong>of</strong> the initiative.<br />
While, not meant to be an exhaustive rendering, an<br />
Canada<br />
Canada is a major aid contributor to <strong>Africa</strong> through its<br />
national <strong>for</strong>eign assistance agency, the Canadian International<br />
Development Agency (CIDA). A member <strong>of</strong> the<br />
G8 and an early supporter <strong>of</strong> <strong>NEPAD</strong>, Canada allocated<br />
roughly US$6 billion in ODA <strong>for</strong> <strong>Africa</strong> <strong>for</strong> the period<br />
2002 – 2008 and in 2008 raised its annual aid budget to<br />
<strong>Africa</strong> to US$2.1 billion.<br />
3. Public Sector Support <strong>for</strong> <strong>NEPAD</strong> A <strong>Decade</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>NEPAD</strong><br />
Toward this end, NAASP was developed around three<br />
broad areas <strong>of</strong> partnership: 1) political solidarity, 2)<br />
economic cooperation, and 3) socio-cultural relations.<br />
Furthermore, NAASP was to focus on practical cooperation<br />
between the two continents in areas such as: trade,<br />
industry, investment, finance, tourism, in<strong>for</strong>mation and<br />
communication technology, energy, health, transportation,<br />
agriculture, water resources and fisheries.<br />
Institutionally, NAASP would convene a Summit <strong>of</strong> Heads<br />
<strong>of</strong> State/ Government every four years, a Ministerial Meeting<br />
<strong>of</strong> Foreign Ministers every two years and Sectoral<br />
Ministerial and other Technical Meetings when deemed<br />
necessary. A Business Summit in conjunction with the<br />
Summit <strong>of</strong> Heads <strong>of</strong> State/ Government would also be<br />
held every fours years. 29<br />
In September 2006, South <strong>Africa</strong> and Indonesia co-chaired<br />
the first NAASP Senior Officials Meeting in Durban, South<br />
<strong>Africa</strong>, and in October 2009 a Senior Officials Meeting<br />
<strong>of</strong> NAASP was held in Jakarta, Indonesia with the key<br />
agenda item being the organization’s first Summit which<br />
is to be held in 2010 30 .<br />
29 Declaration on the New Asian-<strong>Africa</strong>n Strategic Partnership,<br />
Bandung Indonesia, April 2005<br />
30 Indonesia Hosts Asian-<strong>Africa</strong>n Senior Official Meeting, October 12,<br />
2009 – www.news.xinhuanet.com<br />
assessment <strong>of</strong> some <strong>of</strong> the initiatives <strong>of</strong> these countries<br />
is illustrative <strong>of</strong> the growth in support that exists <strong>for</strong> the<br />
<strong>NEPAD</strong> programme.<br />
While a number <strong>of</strong> CIDA funded initiatives aid the<br />
principles <strong>of</strong> <strong>NEPAD</strong> (such as the CIDA funded SADC<br />
Public-Private Partnership development project 31 ), in<br />
2002 Canada launched the US$500 million Canada Fund<br />
<strong>for</strong> <strong>Africa</strong> to support <strong>NEPAD</strong> and the G8 Action Plan.<br />
Four years later, Canada further stepped up and invested<br />
31 www.sadcbanking.orwg<br />
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