"I have not only continued to encourage African countries to assume greater responsibility for building durable peace and promoting sustainable development, I have also urged their development partners to provide the necessary support," declared UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan at the inaugural meeting of the reconstituted Panel of High-Level Personalities on African Development, held in New York on 15 October 1998.
Mr. Annan opened the meeting by noting the forum's role in providing a timely "opportunity for high-level experts of diverse background and experience, from Africa and other regions, to exchange views on development challenges and opportunities on the continent."
Photo: UN / Evan Schneider
OSCAL's paper on Africa's external debt, echoed Mr. Annan's call for "more flexibility in the implementation of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC) so as to increase the number of beneficiary countries." Agreeing on the need to strengthen debt management capacity, the Panel discussed ideas such as the creation of an independent body to analyze debt sustainability, and clearer linkage of debt relief with poverty reduction.
Turning to the topic of Africa's access to export markets, the Panel noted the need to address the high and escalating tariffs imposed on Africa's major exports, such as agricultural products, textiles and clothing, and leather goods. Speakers affirmed the importance of building supply capacity to take advantage of market opportunities. Specific Panel recommendations on this issue included improvements to infrastructure, product packaging and marketing skills.
The Panel also urged more trade-related technical assistance to Africa to strengthen African countries' negotiating capabilities in the World Trade Organization.
Several speakers called for increased intra- and inter-regional trade. Toward this end, the Panel voiced support for regional infrastructure projects to lower transaction costs and facilitate Africa's integration into the global economy.
Panel speakers stressed the importance of harmonizing and coordinating the various international initiatives on Africa, guided by locally owned strategies to ensure added value and synergy. Among other proposals, the Panel recommended more effective coordination among bilateral and multilateral donors and within the UN system. The Panel said African countries and their partners should collaborate to set priorities and realistic targets and define respective responsibilities, while enlarging the role of civil society in the collaborative process.
Citing Africa's improved economic performance of recent years, several Panel participants expressed optimism about the continent's future as well as concern that the good results could be undermined by the effects of the global financial crisis. Underscoring the importance of holding the meeting at a time when Africa's recent economic gains risk being reversed, Mr. Poul Nielson, Denmark's Minister for Development Cooperation and the meeting's chairman, concluded by urging Panel members to prioritize African development issues on the international agenda, and to follow up, in their respective capacities, on the meeting's proposals.
Participants in the High-Level Panel meetingSpeciosa Wandira Kazibwe, Vice-President, Uganda Frene Ginwala, Speaker, South Africa's National Assembly Ablassse Ouédraogo, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Burkina Faso Poul Nielson, Minister for Development Cooperation, Denmark Shinsuke Horiuchi, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan John Vereker, Permanent Secretary, Department for International Development, UK Cyril Enweze, Vice-President, African Development Bank James Michel, Chairman, Development Assistance Committee, OECD Hisham El-Sherif, Chairman of the Advisory Board, Cabinet Information and Decision Support Centre, Egypt Anthony Lake, Georgetown University, Washington, DC Kwesi Botchwey, Director, Africa Research and Programmes, Harvard Institute for International Development Francis Deng, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institute Ahmed Haggag, Assistant Secretary-General, OAU James Gustave Speth, Administrator, UNDP Nitin Desai, Under-Secretary-General, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs Rubens Ricupero, Secretary-General, UNCTAD K.Y. Amoako, Executive Secretary, ECA Callisto Madavo, Vice-President for Africa, World Bank |
