4 October 2007
The Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Mandisi Mpahlwa, will deliver a
keynote address at a New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad) Projects
Conference at Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg.
The Nepad conference aims to mobilise support from the private sector for
New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad) projects. The conference
consolidates a process which began with a National Nepad Strategy Workshop held
in Port Elizabeth in December 2005, and a subsequent Nepad Implementation
Strategy Workshop held in Sandton in April 2006.
Topics that will be discussed at the conference include the role of the
private sector and civil society in the implementation of Nepad, the African
development agenda: progress, challenges and projects in Nepad implementation,
introducing the Nepad implementation strategy for South Africa (Nissa), and
harnessing partnerships for accelerated implementation of Nepad.
It is vital to maintain the momentum of the first two workshops that
established the criteria for a Nepad project, and developed an implementation
strategy. Private sector's support for Nepad is necessary to realise the vision
of an African Renaissance. The conference will serve as a platform for the
exchange of information for the private sector engagement with Nepad, and
establish valuable and mutually beneficial partnerships.
Nepad is a home-grown, continental and internationally recognised
socio-economic development programme for the African continent. The primary
objectives of Nepad are:
* poverty eradication
* development of the African continent
* integration of the African continent into the global economy
* acceleration of the empowerment of women.
Issued by: Department of Trade and Industry
4 October 2007
Source: Department of Trade and Industry (http://www.dti.gov.za)
