ECA Business Plan

(The Reporter) - United Nations Under-secretary General and Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Mr. Abdoulie Janneh has signed a memorandum of understanding between ECA and the governments of Denmark, Sweden and the United Kingdom regarding the provision of extra-budgetary resources for ECA activities as identified in its business plan for 2007-2009, ECA said.

The MoU was signed Thursday 20 December 2007 at the ECA offices in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and provides about US$ 12 million towards ECA activities in gender, governance, regional integration and intra-African trade from January 2008 to December 2009.

During the signing ceremony, Mr. Janneh thanked the partners for the confidence they have shown in ECA and the hard work they all put in to make the agreement possible. He stated that it was a happy day for ECA to be able to secure the resources, and added that: "Now is the beginning of the real hard work." He assured the donors that ECA will be totally transparent with allocation of resources and provide donors with regular reports.

Signing on behalf of the government of Denmark, the Danish Ambassador to Ethiopia, H.E. Pernille Dahler Kardel, said the agreement was a very important one and takes Denmark’s relationship with ECA to a new level. She reiterated Denmark’s support to African institutions and welcomed the good collaboration that exists between ECA and the African Union.

On behalf of the Government of Sweden, H.E. Staffan Tillander, Ambassador to Ethiopia, said he was honoured to be able to provide support to the United Nations entity doing very important work for Africa. He said that in Sweden, "even before we get rid of our diapers, we learn to love the United Nations." He thanked Mr. Janneh for his leadership in the negotiations process which led to the signing of the memorandum.

Representing the British government, John Marshall, Charge d’Affaires at the embassy in Addis Ababa, reiterated his countries commitment to the United Nations and the cause of African development. He stated his commitment to making the agreement work, which would establish the framework for long-term cooperation.

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) business plan for 2007-2009, outlines ECA plans for the three-year period and resources requirements, both from the regular budget and extra-budgetary sources, necessary to fully deliver the plan. The governments of Denmark, Sweden and the United Kingdom collectively form the Pooled Fund Partners, and will provide over US $12 million towards ECA activities. The agreement also has provision for other partners to join this financing arrangement and discussions are on going with these partners.

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