In this week’s AU Monitor, Michael Deibert argues that regional trade and integration are key to African development, while President Abdou Diouf, Secretary General of la Francophonie and former President of Senegal, speaking at the African Development Bank (AfDB) Eminent Speakers bureau, stated that “Africa’s regional integration should not be in service of globalization but in service of the continent’s development”. Further, the UN Security Council supported strengthening ties between the UN and the AU with the aim of enhancing capacities to deal with conflicts. This, after the AU peacekeeping mission suffered the loss of ten personnel and the wounding of ten others in South Darfur. AU Commission Chairperson Alpha Oumar Konare has said the assailants will bear the consequences of the heinous act.

In trade news, African Development Bank (AfDB) Group President, Donald Kaberuka, called for more effective channelling of these resources noting that remittances from the Diaspora amount to figures comparable to the Official Development Assistance (ODA) of many States, and in some cases remittances are as high as 750% of ODA. Also from AfDB, macroeconomist Hyacinthe Kouassi says that limited relevance of structural reforms financed by aid are the missing link in the analysis of aid effectiveness. While the World Bank has intervened on the issue of Economic Partnership Agreement negotiations, requesting that the European Union extend its end of year deadline.

In analysis on the global actors vying for influence in Africa, French President Nicolas Sarkozy is attempting to raise support for a Mediterranean Union, which would increase France’s geopolitical and economic influence in the region, while the United States increases its military presence in Africa with Africom becoming fully operational this week. Further, Penny Davies of Diakonia analyses China’s development assistance policies in a new report.

In event news, the Pan African Parliament ordinary session will be held in Midrand, South Africa from 15-26 October. The AU Monitor will bring you information, news and analysis from this meeting as soon as they become available.