Statement by Mr. Abdoulie Janneh at the twelfth ordinary session of the Executive Council of the African Union Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 27 January 2008

Abstract

Statement by Mr. Abdoulie Janneh, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ECA at the Twelfth Ordinary Session of the Executive Council of the African Union. Mr. Janneh, on his remarks highlighted that, Africa continues to govern itself better in keeping with the aspirations of NEPAD and supported in many instances by the instrumentality of the African Peer Review Mechanism. Without a doubt, the international community has placed Africa's concerns squarely on its agenda and pledged support for its development efforts. This commitment to up-scale the quality and quantity of official development assistance has been demonstrated in several ways and acknowledged as such by African leaders. The issue of climate change is very closely linked to theme of the forthcoming summit which is ‘Industrial Development of Africa” because there are concerns that proposed responses to climate change might make the path for industrialization in Africa more difficult. Africa's development agenda cannot be achieved if we do not collectively safeguard peace and security in every corner of the continent. It is therefore pleasing that the leadership of the continent through the mechanism of the African Union is constantly engaged in determined efforts to resolve conflicts and manage peace.