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>> download the SWAC's newsletter - May Issue
Meetings with African Partners in Ouagadougou
Mr. Normand Lauzon, SWAC Director, carried out a mission to Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso from 26 May to 2 June 2007 to meet with African partners (CILSS, ECOWAS, ROPPA and UEMOA) as well as with representatives of various development partners (Canada, France, United States, European Commission, FAO, OXFAM, UNDP, UNECA and the WFP). He participated in the CILSS-ECOWAS-UEMOA Consultation Meeting from 30 May to 1 June 2007 on the launching of the Agricultural Information System (AGRIS) in the Sahel and West Africa. Informal meetings with the President of the ECOWAS Commission, the Vice-President and various Commissioners at the ECOWAS Foreign Ministers Conference on 2 June helped prepare his next mission to Abuja (Nigeria), scheduled from 10 to 14 June 2007. Exchanges with UEMOA President, Mr. Soumaila Cissé, facilitated the finalisation of a co-operation framework between the SWAC and the UEMOA. A draft framework for co-operation between the SWAC and ROPPA is also in the process of being finalised. Mr. Lauzon’s meeting with CILSS representatives mainly focused on the preparation of the Food Crisis Prevention Network (FCPN) restricted meeting on the Evaluation of the Food Aid Charter to be held in Bamako from 11 to 15 June 2007.
Field Mission to the "Kano - Katsina - Maradi" Cross-border Corridor
Within the framework of the initiative on “Cross-Border Co-operation & Food Security in the Kano-Katsina-Maridi (K²M) Corridor”, Philipp Heinrigs (SWAC), together with representatives of the SWAC’s partner organisations (FEWS NET, Cellule de Crises Alimentaires du Niger, Niger-Nigeria Joint Commission for Co-operation and the Nigerian National Boundary Commission), organised a joint field mission from 26 May to 5 June 2007. The mission’s aim was to meet with local actors and decision-makers to discuss their contribution to a local food crisis prevention and management approach. Some concrete proposals for cross-border co-operation actions emerged during the discussions. These proposals will be presented at the Katsina (Nigeria) cross-border co-operation workshop, to be held in September 2007.
Contact: philipp.heinrigs@oecd.org
Experts Meeting on the Establishment of the AU Border Programme
Mr. Laurent Bossard, SWAC Deputy Director, participated in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) from 4 to 5 June 2007 in the prepatory experts meeting on the AU Border Programme. Experts of the 48 AU member countries discussed and amended the Report and draft Declaration of the AU Border Programme. The documents were approved on 7 June 2007 by the Ministers responsible for border issues. Drawing on the SWAC-ECOWAS West African cross-border experiences, the AU Border Programme will be submitted to the AU Heads of State Conference to be held in Accra (Ghana) on 13 July 2007.
Contact: laurent.bossard@oecd.org
ECOWAS Commissioner Mr. Salifou's Visit to the SWAC
ECOWAS Commissioner Mr. Ousseni Salifou, responsible for “Agriculture, Water and Environment”,, visited the SWAC headquarters in Issy-les-Moulineaux to deepen exchanges on joint activities defined within the “Framework for Co-operation between ECOWAS and the SWAC”. Mr. Jean Zoundi, Head of the SWAC’s “Rural Transformation & Sustainable Development” Unit and his team, along with Mr. Salifou, explored opportunities for co-operation on issues related to “rural transformation, food security, agricultural and trade policies, livestock and transhumant pastoralism” with a view to implementing ECOWAS’ Agricultural Policy (ECOWAP). Mr. Salifou emphasised that his team attaches great importance to the SWAC’s support. He will soon be examining the implementation of joint activities and make concrete proposals concerning the mobilisation of financial resources for their implementation.
Contact: jeansibiri.zoundi@oecd.org
Launching of the New SWAC Website – www.oecd.org/sah
Along with the launching of the new OECD Web design, the Sahel and West Africa Club has launched its new website that can be visited at: www.oecd.org/sah. The new website includes a presentation of West Africa, the SWAC’s main areas of work, its Strategy and Policy Group (SPG) and its team, SWAC publications, activities in 2007, upcoming & past events as well as a special section dedicated to the presentation of the SWAC’s networking partners in Africa and within OECD member countries. Country-fact sheets will soon be posted as well as regional information and various information sources on West Africa.
Contact: julia.wanjiru@oecd.org
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