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SWAC Strategy and Policy Group Meeting
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 Background
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The Sahel and West Africa Club’s Strategy and Policy Group (SPG), the Club’s Board of Directors, meets twice a year (a thematic meeting held in a West African country and a strategic and administrative/budgetary meeting generaly held in an OECD country) to examine the work accomplished and to review and approve once every five years the SWAC’s multi-year work plan.
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Objectives
The SWAC invited its SPG members to brainstorm and comment on the SWAC’s 2008-2012 Work Plan. The main objectives of this meeting were to:
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Review the implementation of the SWAC 2005-2007 Work Plan
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Discuss and approve the orientations of the SWAC's 2008-2012 Work Plan
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Exchange views on the SWAC’s financial and administrative situation
Key Outcomes
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Regional Focus: SPG members agreed that the SWAC’s main mission is to promote regional approaches and facilitate the development of common policies in West Africa. A regional focus will thus continue to guide all of the SWAC’s activities.
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Prospective Vision: the SWAC shall continue to initiate constructive debates based on strategic questions on the region’s future and facilitate exchanges between regional actors and OECD member countries.
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West African Capacity-building: it shall also continue to support regional institutions such as the CILSS, ECOWAS, UEMOA, etc. while strengthening partnerships with civil society and relevant private sector representatives.
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Policy Dialogue & Political Strategic Thinking: the SWAC shall also provide more inputs for political strategic thinking and debates in particular within the framework of important international meetings on aid effectiveness, migration, the Millennium Development Goals, EPA negotiations, etc.
Next Steps
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2008 Activities: SPG members considered the SWAC’s 2008-2012 draft Work Plan to be very ambitious. Its guiding principles should, however, be better highlighted. In order to facilitate the implementation of the proposed Work Plan, the SWAC will prepare a note outlining the concrete activities scheduled for 2008 highlighting their innovativeness and/or complementarities with activities undertaken within other institutions on the same topic, in particular within the OECD.
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Financial Situation: The SWAC's financial situation remains critical. Mobilisation of additional resources for 2008 will remain the SWAC’s key priority. The SPG will meet again at the beginning of June in order to assess the SWAC’s financial situation.
Participants
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SWAC's financial partners
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SWAC's West African partners and other development partners of the West African region
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Representatives of the West African diplomatic community based in Paris
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