From: 05/11/2009
to: 06/11/2009
Location: Bujumbura, Burundi
A major delegation led by the AfDB President, Donald Kaberuka, will attend a Round Table meeting on the implementation of the Pact on Security, Stability and Development in the Great Lakes in the Burundian capital, Bujumbura, on 5 and 6 November.
The International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) is a mechanism for regional peace, security, stability and development in the eleven core countries of Africa's Great Lakes region*, an area with a population of 282 million and an estimated 2009 GDP of USD 260 billion.
The ICGLR came about as a result of a joint initiative in 1996 between the United Nations and the African Union, and of the collective resolve of the Member States to transform the region into a hub for the promotion of peace and enduring security, stability, social policy, growth and shared development. The Pact was signed at the Second Summit of Heads of State held in Nairobi (Kenya) in December 2006, and came into force in June 2008.
The overall objective of the Round Table is to mobilize support for the implementation of the Pact, and will be organized along the lines of four programs for action. The programs comprise: Peace and Security; Democracy and Good Governance; Economic Development and Regional Integration, and Humanitarian. Social and Environmental Issues.
Attending this important meeting will be the President of Burundi, Pierre Nkurunziza, the President of Zambia, Rupiah Banda, the President of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, and Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki, together with the former heads of state of Nigeria and Tanzania, Olusegun Obasanjo and Benjamin Mkapa respectively. Mr. Jean Ping, President of the Commission of the African Union will also be in attendance.
AfDB is actively involved in organizing the Round Table, and continues to provide significant support to the ICGLR. It hosts and manages the Special Fund for Reconstruction and Development (SFRD), one of the key instruments of the ICGLR agreement. The SFRD was created to finance the implementation of protocols and programs of the Covenant. It is funded by contributions from Member States and voluntary contributions from partners for cooperation and development.
The combined commitment of AfDB in the 11 countries of the region is around USD 11 billion, and the figure has grown considerably in the past four years. Infrastructure and multinational programs promoting regional integration form the most important areas in that commitment.
In addition to these projects, AfDB is involved and supports the most important regional initiatives such as: Horn of Africa Initiative, the North-South Corridor, the Nacalla Corridor phases I and II, the Northern Corridor, the Kigali Connect Africa Summit, etc.
* Angola, Burundi, Kenya, Uganda, Central African Republic, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania and Zambia.
