News and Events

11th Africa Partnership Forum, Addis Ababa, 17-18 November 2008

Africa, G8 and OECD identify actions needed to keep Africa on growth track despite global downturn

The 11th meeting of the Africa Partnership Forum took place in Addis Ababa from 17-18 November 2008, hosted by the government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. It brought together over 100 high-level representatives from Africa, G8 and OECD countries as well as from multilateral and African institutions to discuss key issues for Africa’s development and to highlight priorities for progress. Topics on the agenda included:

• Emerging Governance Issues in the Africa Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) Process
• Development Finance, which looks at domestic revenue mobilization/ODA flows/debt and other financial flows -- with a special focus on the potential impacts of the financial crisis on Africa and strategies for addressing related challenges.
• Carbon Finance in Africa, which will examine how Africa can increase its participation in the carbon market
• An update of the AU/NEPAD African Action Plan

Draft programme  Provisional List of Documents  Documents/Reports  Carbon Finance in Africa - Policy Paper  News Release

For more information, contact apf.contact@oecd.org

Mutual Review of Development Effectiveness:  A unique exercise in mutual accountability

Growing global attention is focused on the challenge of accelerating progress towards the MDGs and the need for strengthened monitoring and mutual accountability arrangements in the international system.  Initiated in 2003 at the request of African leaders, the Mutual Review of Development Effectiveness (MRDE) is a unique consultation mechanism between African leaders and policymakers and their OECD counterparts to promote dialogue, track commitment delivery, highlight good practice and suggest go-forward priorities. The Mutual Review process goes beyond reporting on progress against commitments it will also have a bearing on the shape of the international development calendar in 2009.

The 2008 version of the Mutual Review of Development Effectiveness Report, a follow-on to the first edition published in 2005, is currently being developed jointly by the UN Economic Commission for Africa and the OECD.  The Report will cover four main areas:

• Sustainable economic growth, including trade, agriculture, infrastructure, private sector development, climate change; 
• Human development, including education, health and gender;
• Governance and capacity development, which will focus on political and economic governance, peace and security and capacity development, and;
• Development finance, which will include subsections on domestic revenue mobilisation, aid, debt relief and other financing sources. 

As part of the MRDE’s consultation process, a special validation meeting was organised in mid-October 2008 to ensure the analysis and conclusions of the Report reflect stakeholder’s views, concerns and priorities.  Over 50 experts from African and G8/OECD intergovernmental institutions, civil society and think tanks participated in the MRDE Validation Meeting in Addis Ababa on 17-18 October 2008.

Agenda    List of Participants    Photos

Insights, suggestions and agreed priorities distilled from meeting discussions will be integrated in the Report over the coming month.  The final report will be published in early 2009.

For more information about the MRDE, contact: apf.contact@oecd.org

10th Africa Partnership Forum, Tokyo, 7-8 April 2008

More than 150 high-level representatives from Africa, G8 and OECD countries came together for the 10th meeting of the APF in Tokyo on 7-8 April to discuss key issues affecting development in Africa, ahead of the G8 Summit in Hokkaido. The meeting focused on climate change and ways to diminish its impact on Africa, the AU/NEPAD African Action Plan, and concluded with a session on “Boosting Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction”,  which looked in turn at agriculture, infrastructure, ICT, and gender.

Programme     Documents/reports    Speeches    Press Release    Photos

9th Africa Partnership Forum, Algiers, 12-13 November 2007

The 9th meeting of the Africa Partnership Forum (APF) was held in Algiers from 12-13 November 2007, hosted by the government of Algeria. It focused on governance in development, financing for development and progress regarding agriculture, infrastructure, trade and investment. 

Key Messages from the 9th APF:

• Africa has made impressive progress in promoting good governance, especially since the launching of NEPAD and the African Peer Review Mechanism. This has resulted in more democratic elections, reduced conflict, increased respect for human rights, and enhanced service delivery.
• Though important challenges remain.  The key areas identified were the implementation of the APRM, the further strengthening of Africa’s peacekeeping capacity, and the implementation by Africa and development partners of commitments on issues ranging from gender equality to combating corruption.
• Development partners have responded to Africa's efforts including through significant increases in development assistance and debt relief, accompanied by increases in private capital flows. Real progress has been made: economic growth has accelerated, and the proportion of people living on less than $1 a day has fallen.
• But more needs to be done by both sides of the partnership.   Africa needs to maintain progress on domestic resource mobilisation, and continue efforts to prioritise supply-side competitiveness, and the development of infrastructure and agriculture. Development partners need in particular to deliver on their commitments to increase development assistance. Climate change  has also now emerged as a key issue, affecting the prospects for continued economic growth and poverty reduction.

Programme    Documents/reports    Speeches

8th Africa Partnership Forum, Berlin, May 22-23

The 8th meeting of the Africa Partnership Forum (APF) took place from May 22-23, 2007, in Berlin, just two weeks before the G8 Heiligendamm summit.  Participants included Personal Representatives for the G8-Africa Process coming from G8 and OECD countries as well as from the African member states of the NEPAD steering committee.  The meeting was hosted by Germany as G8 Presidency and opened by German Chancellor Angela Merkel,Ghanaian Foreign Minister Nana Afuko-Addo representing African Union Chair John Kufuor, and Danish Prime Minister Anders Rasmussen. It was also addressed by Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, and the Archbishop of Cape Town The Most Reverend Njongonkulu Ndungane representing civil society. Participants discussed four key areas affecting Africa: investment, gender, climate change, and peace and security.

Through the intensive dialogue between the G8 Africa Personal Representatives and the African partners in preparing the APF, this year’s APF developed substantive recommendations for the G8 summit as well as for the AU summit, thus following up the joint work on the G8 Africa Action Plan adopted in Kananaskis in 2002.

Key messages from the meeting:

• Climate change is a major threat to development, including the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals in Africa. Africa is the continent which contributes least to the problem, and yet which is most vulnerable. More needs to be done both to reduce future emission levels, and to help Africa adapt to the changes - including drought, desertification and flooding - which are already happening;
• It is now time to invest in Africa. The world needs to realign its perceptions with the reality of the continent’s renewed dynamism, and improved economic performance – with average growth rates exceeding 5% over each of the last 3 years, and now outstripping average global growth rates. Increased investment – both domestic and foreign – will enable Africa to boost its growth rates even further, and accelerate progress towards poverty reduction;
• Peace and security is essential to development. Firm leadership is being taken by Africa itself, and the number of conflicts has dropped dramatically. But many people, especially women and children, are still suffering from conflict - particularly in Darfur. More needs to be done both to provide sufficient predictable funding for the peacekeeping operations being undertaken by Africa itself, and to tackle wider issues, such as the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, and in resources used to fund conflict;
• It is time for deliver for women and girls Africa's own growth and development agenda can only succeed if the continent is able to draw on all its resources and talents. Discrimination must be eliminated, and equal rights promoted, in Africa as well as globally, so that women are able to participate fully in all aspects of economic, social and political life. More also needs to be done to accelerate gender-specific action on HIV/AIDS, which particularly affects women.

These messages have been endorsed by Africa and its main development partners, and reflect the views of civil society too.  They will now feed immediately into the preparations for the G8 Heiligendamm Summit, to which African leaders have been invited, as well as high level political meetings both in Africa and internationally over the rest of the year. The next meeting of the Africa Partnership Forum will be hosted by the government of Algeria.

Agenda    Documents/Reports  Press Release   Speeches  List of Participants  Photos

Other Meetings

Expert Meeting on Climate Change and Africa, 20 February, 2007 - Ouagadougou, Burkino Faso
Expert Meeting on Gender, 21 February, 2007 - Berlin, Germany
Expert Meeting on Investment in Africa, 23 February, 2007 - Johannesburg, South Africa
Expert Meeting on Peace & Security, 14 March, 2007 - Addis Ababa, Ethiopia