Communiqué Issued at the End of the Seventh Summit of the Heads of State and Government Implementation Committee (HSGIC) of the New Partnership for Africa's Development, 28 May 2003 Abuja, Nigeria

1. The Seventh Summit of the Heads of State and Government Implementation Committee (HSGIC) of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) was held in Abuja, Nigeria, on Wednesday, 28th May 2003, at the invitation of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Chairman of the Committee.

2. The following dignitaries attended the Summit:

i. His Excellency, John Kufuor, President of the Republic of Ghana;
ii. His Excellency, Joaquim Alberto Chissano, President of the Republic of Mozambique;
iii. His Excellency, Olusegun Obasanjo, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria;
iv. His Excellency, Abdoulaye Wade, President of the Republic of Senegal;
v. His Excellency, Thabo Mbeki, President of the Republic of South Africa;
vi. His Excellency, Amadou Toumani Toure, President of the Republic of Mali;
vii. His Excellency, Korumba Yole, President of the Republic of Guinea Bissau;
viii. His Excellency, Amara Essy, Interim Chairperson, African Union Commission;
ix. His Excellency, Emmanuel Ondo Methogo, Vice Prime Minister, Republic of Gabon;
x. His Excellency, Abdel Kader Bensalah, President of the Senate, People's Democratic Republic of Algeria;
xi. His Excellency Roberto Victor de Almeida, Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Angola;
xii. His Excellency, Mompati S. Merafhe, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Botswana;
xiii. Honourable Anil Kurmarsingh Gayan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Co-operation of the Republic of Mauritius;
xiv. His Excellency, Ali E. Hillal, Minister of Youth, Arab Republic of Egypt;
xv. His Excellency, Hamdi Hamouda, Secretary of State, Republic of Tunisia;
xvi. His Excellency, Justin Ndioro, Minister of Special Duties at the Presidency, Republic of Cameroon;
xvii. His Excellency, Pierre Moussa, Minister of Planning and Economic Integration, Republic of Congo;
xviii. His Excellency, Ali Treiki, Minister of African Unity, The Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya;
xix. His Excellency, Charles Norigande, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Republic of Rwanda;
xx. His Excellency, Fisseha Yimer, Ambassador of Ethiopia to UN, Geneva;
xxi. His Excellency, David M. Mutemi, High Commissioner of Kenya to Nigeria;
xxii. Her Excellency, Joan Rwabyomere, High Commissioner of the Republic
of Uganda to Nigeria;
xxiii. His Excellency, M. M. Matiko, High Commissioner of United Republic of Tanzania to Nigeria;
xxiv. His Excellency, Mohamed Ibn Chambas, Executive Secretary, Economic Community of West African States;
xxv. Mr. Bisi Ogunjobi, Vice-President of the African Development Bank; and
xxvi. Mr. Kempe Ronald Hope, Director, Economic Commission for Africa.

3. The 7th Summit of the NEPAD Heads of State and Government Implementation Committee [HSGIC] observed a minute of silence in a show of solidarity with the Government and people of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria for their immense loss as a result of the earthquake that struck in that country several days ago. A message of sympathy in this regard was sent by the HSGIC to President Bouteflika.

4. The Chairman of the HSGIC, President Olusegun Obasanjo, welcomed all Heads of delegation and participants at the 7th Summit. On behalf of the Implementation Committee, he expressed heartfelt sympathy with President Bouteflika, the Government and people of Algeria and prayed God to give succour to the nation and the families of the bereaved.

5. He noted with satisfaction the progress already made on implementation of NEPAD and expressed the hope that the Summit would consider and approve the proposed membership of the initial Panel of Eminent Persons for the African Peer Review Mechanism. He expressed absolute confidence in the integrity of the proposed Members of the APR Panel.

6. President Obasanjo also expressed the resolve of African leaders to use the forthcoming G8 Summit in Evian, France to remind the G8 leaders about the imperative of honouring commitments in order to promote global peace, security, stability and sustainable development. He recalled the launch of the G8 Africa Action Plan at the G8 Summit in Kananaskis, Canada.
He added that world peace and security could only be sustained if all nations, developed and developing, fulfill commitments and pledges which they made voluntarily. Finally, the Chairman urged the international community to ensure that issues concerning Africa remain firmly on the
global agenda.

Congratulatory Message on Re-election of President Obasanjo
7. The HSGIC congratulated the Chairman on his re-election as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and wished him success in the onerous task ahead.

Progress Report of the Chairman of NEPAD Steering Committee from March 2003 to May 2003

8. The Chairman of the NEPAD Steering Committee presented his progress report which concentrated on follow up actions from the last HSGIC meeting, programme implementation, outreach and partnerships. The HSGIC commended the quality of the report and the progress made since the last Summit and requested the Chairman to convey their appreciation to his colleagues in the NEPAD Steering Committee.

Priority Projects on Agriculture

9. The HSGIC was briefed on the main activities on agriculture of the NEPAD Secretariat, which are geared towards supporting an accelerated implementation of the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Plan (CAADP) and addressing the current food crisis in Africa. The involvement of the Regional Economic Communities (REC's) was a central element in this
context.
This action plan and its 17 projects provide a road map through which NEPAD will address the current crisis in Africa and kick start agricultural development on the continent. The HSGIC approved the projects and resolved to support implementation of the proposed priority projects on Agriculture.

Priority Projects on Infrastructure

10. The HSGIC considered the progress made on priority areas of infrastructure development and the detailed list of priority projects that was presented in this regard. The HSGIC undertook to facilitate implementation of the detailed plans nationally and regionally and endorsed
the various projects identified for implementation. The HSGIC approved the fast-tracking of the implementation of the identified projects and requested the RECs and the ADB to work together and develop for approval a funding or financing mechanism.

11. The HSGIC observed that, while the identified infrastructure and agriculture projects are for fast-tracking, other projects should not be excluded. The HSGIC reconfirmed the high priority sectors for implemenataton of agriculture and food security, water and sanitation, infrastructure and ICT.

12. The HSGIC acknowledged the lack of capacity in the continent specially at the level of the Regional Economic Communities [RECs] in formulating projects and tasked the NEPAD Steering Committee and NEPAD Secretriat to follow up on this matter very closely.

NEPAD Trust Fund

13. The HSGIC expressed appreciation to His Excellency, President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal for proposing the plan to set up a NEPAD Trust Fund to be managed by the African Development Bank. The HSGIC encouraged this initiative and supported the setting up of such a Fund and tasked the Steering Committee and Secretariat to follow up on the matter.

Support from Partners

14. President Wade briefed the HSGIC on the message received from the Prime Minister of India, about his official visit to Japan and the letter received from the Prime Minister of Japan. The letter contained a pledge of commitment by Japan to the development of Africa. It dealt with concrete support and financial allocations to a number of priority issues. It pledged the support of the TICAD process to supporting the implementation of NEPAD. The TICAD III Summit will be held in Tokyo, Japan from 29 September-01 October 2003. The HSGIC thanked the Governments of Japan, India and other countries for the support and interest shown in the NEPAD and its programmes.

NEPAD/G8 interaction at the G8 Summit in Evian, France

15. The HSGIC took the opportunity to review the NEPAD/G8 partnership, and to review progress made in the implementation of the G8 Africa Action Plan announced in Kananaskis at the last G8 Summit in June 2002. The HSGIC deliberated on the matters to be addressed by the African leaders invited to attend the G8 Summit and how to maximize the gains from the interactions with the G8 in the future.
In particular, the HSGIC discussed a number of specific issues such as peace support operations, deadlock on trade negotiation and market access issues, support for infrastructure projects, debt relief, progress on MDGs, progress on implementation of G8 Africa Action Plan etc. that are to be raised with the G8 and how to maintain the momentum generated by NEPAD as Africa finds itself challenged on the global agenda by other competing international considerations. They also noted the need to maintain a system of structured engagement with the G8.

Joint Africa/G8 Plan on Peace Support Operations

16. As part of the preparation for the G8 Summit by the African leaders, Ambassador S Djinnit, Interim Commissioner of AU Commission briefed the HSGIC on interactions with the G8 on a Joint Plan to enhance peace support operations. He further outlined the African position developed at the 3rd meeting of the African Chiefs of Defence Staff to include the adoption of a
policy framework, which essentially provides for the establishment of an AU strategic management capability as well as five regional brigades to enable the AU to undertake peace support operations.

17. He also informed that only six AU Member States have so far ratified the Protocol Relating to the Establishment of the Peace and Security Council of the AU. The HSGIC once again urged Member States particularly those Members of the HSGIC to urgently ratify the Protocol, preferably by the next AU Summit in Maputo, Mozambique.

18. Based on the discussions around issues for the G8 Evian Summit, the HSGIC mandated the NEPAD Steering Committee and Secretariat to:
(i) revise the document prepared for African leaders invited to the
Evian Summit based on comments made;
(ii) prepare a document regarding the achievements made by NEPAD over the
past year; and
(iii) prepare a report on the implementation of G8 Africa Action Plan by
the G8.

19. In discussing the issue of funding and support for priority projects in Africa by the G8, the meeting decided that a clear strategy was needed regarding the mobilization of African resources [financial, human and institutional]. The HSGIC will reflect on this matter more at the next
meeting in Maputo on 09 July 2003.

African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) Panel of Eminent Persons

20. The HSGIC noted that 15 African Union [AU] Member States have signed the Memorandum of Understanding of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) namely Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa and Uganda. The Chairman invited other AU Member States to consider acceding to the process as a demonstration of their commitment to accept best practices in political, economic and corporate governance in Africa.

21. The HSGIC recalled that the Chairman was mandated, at the last Summit, to undertake consultations with the Representatives of each region on the HSGIC, on the appointment of the Chairperson and members of the Panel of Eminent Persons.

22. The HSGIC took note that the Chairperson consulted widely and received many nominations from various sources, including AU Member States which have acceded to the APRM. Six candidates were approved by the HSGIC as initial Members of the APR Panel as follows:

(i) Professor Adebayo Adedeji - West Africa
(ii) Professor Kiplagat - East Africa
(iii) Dr. Graca Machel - Southern Africa
(iv) Ms. Dorothy Njeuma - Central Africa
(v) Ms. Marie-Angelique Savane - West Africa
(vi) Mr. C Stals - Southern Africa

23. The Chairman was further mandated to consult on equal regional representation and on the appointment of the Chairperson of the APR Panel.
Formal Integration of NEPAD into AU structures and processes

24. Pursuant to the decision of the Inaugural Summit of the AU on the review of NEPAD and the decision of the 5th Summit of the HSGIC, the Chairman of the NEPAD Steering Committee reported on the progress on the Study on the "Formal Integration of NEPAD into AU structures and processes" commissioned jointly by the NEPAD Secretariat and AU Commission.

25. The HSGIC decided to consider the matter again at their next meeting in Maputo in light of the outcomes of the Study and make its recommendations on integration to the 2nd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the AU.

Co-ordination of NEPAD Activities

26. The HSGIC noted that all international engagements and involvement on initiatives with relevance to NEPAD by Heads of State and Government should be communicated to the Chairman of the NEPAD Steering Committee for co-ordination purposes.

Attendance at HSGIC Meetings

27. The HSGIC mandated the Chairman and the two Deputy Chairmen to officially write to all Members of the HSGIC requesting them to attend meetings of the HSGIC regularly, to remind them of their obligations to the HSGIC and demonstrate their commitment and obligations not only to their national governments but also to the sub-regions they represent.

Appreciation

28. The HSGIC expressed its profound appreciation to President Olusegun Obasanjo, the Government and people of Nigeria for the hospitality and excellent arrangements, which facilitated the success of the Meeting.

Date and Venue of the Next HSGIC Summit

29. The HSGIC decided that its next meeting would be held in Maputo,
Mozambique on 09 July 2003 at 1400 hrs before the 2nd Ordinary Session of
the Assembly of the African Union. It was agreed that no formal invitations
would be sent for the meeting.

Done at Abuja, this 28th Day of May 2003