SWAC News - January 2007

• SWAC’S STRATEGY & POLICY GROUP MEETING 
• PARTICIPATION IN THE 31ST ORDINARY SESSION OF THE AUTHORITY OF HEADS OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT OF ECOWAS
• MISSION TO THE AFRICAN UNION AND UNECA – STRENGTHENING CROSS-BORDER CO-OPERATION
• NEW HEAD OF THE MEDIUM- AND LONG-TERM DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVES UNIT

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SWAC’s Strategy and Policy Group Meeting

The Sahel and West Africa Club’s bi-annual Strategy and Policy Group (SPG) meeting, the Club’s Board of Directors, took place at the GTZ House in Berlin on 25 and 26 January 2007. The SPG meeting brought together about twenty representatives of the international development community from 7 OECD Member countries, 6 representatives of the West African diplomatic community as well as 3 representatives of the SWAC’s main regional partner institutions and networks (CILSS, ECOWAS, ROPPA). Following the opening ceremony (introduced by Mr. Charles Goerens, SWAC President and Dr. Michael Hofmann, Representative of the German Co-operation and Development Ministry) and an intervention by Mr. William Kanyirige, Representative of the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Mr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, the SWAC Director, Normand Lauzon, highlighted key elements of the SWAC’s 2006 Progress Report. In the afternoon session, the SWAC’s Heads of Unit made thematic presentations on the SWAC's areas of work. The second day focused on the Club's administrative and financial issues. > more | images of the SPG meeting

Participation in the 31st Ordinary Session of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government

Mr. Lauzon, SWAC Director, participated in the 31st ordinary session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso on 19 January 2007. The Authority launched the transformation of the ECOWAS Secretariat into a Commission as well as the restructuring of the ECOWAS institutions in order for these institutions to be more efficient and be able to fully play their role in the integration and development process of the region. > more
 

Mission to the African Union and UNECA – Strengthening Cross-Border Co-operation

Mr. Lauzon carried out a three-day mission to Addis Ababa, accompanied by Mr. Aguibou Diarrah (Mali) and Professor A. Asiwaju (Nigeria), to meet with Mr. Alpha Konaré, President of the Commission of the African Union, Mr. El Ghassim Wane, Head of the AU Conflict Management Division and Mr. Abdoulie Janneh, Executive Secretary of UNECA. The SWAC is a member of a pilot group providing support to the African Union for the establishment of an African Border Programme. With other development partners, the SWAC participated in the launching of cross-border initiatives in West Africa and the establishment of the ECOWAS Cross-border Initiatives programme. The meeting will be followed-up on 8 and 9 March 2007 by an African Experts Meeting on Cross-Border Co-operation in Bamako and an African Ministerial Conference in Addis Ababa in May 2007.
 

New Head of Unit of the Medium- and Long-Term Development Perspectives Unit

The Sahel and West Africa Club is pleased to announce that Mr. Raymond Weber joined the Club as Head of the Medium- and Long-Term Development Perspectives Unit on 8 January 2007. Before being seconded to the SWAC, Mr. Weber was the Director-General of the Luxembourg Agency for Development Co-operation (Lux-Development). He is also a visiting professor at the College of Europe in Bruges (Belgium) and President of the National Council on Sustainable Development in Luxembourg. Previously, Mr. Weber worked for the Luxembourg Government (Director of Cultural Issues), UNESCO (Director for Cultural Development and Artistic Creation) and the Council of Europe (Director for Education, Culture and Sport).

> Contact: raymond.weber@oecd.org