New York, United States - The New Partnership for Africa's Developemnt (NEPAD), on Wednesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the UN Development Programme (UNDP) Africa Bureau. PANA reported that the MoU was signed in New York, US, by Mr. Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency, and Mr. Tegegnework Gettu, Director of the UNDP Africa Bureau.

PANA learnt that the MoU would cover key areas of cooperation -- Development Policy and Strategy, Governance, Capacity Development, South-South Cooperation and Aid Effectiveness, Knowledge Management, Environment and Climate Change, Trade and Gender Equity and Women Empowerment.

Mayaki, who spoke at the event, said: ``This is an opportune moment for us both, UNDP and NEPAD, to tackle intelligently the challenges of the continent and cooperate in areas of development issues and governance'.

``Within the context of the MoU, we have a very specific mandate to show the challenges on the ground and more importantly to find relevant solutions to them,' he noted.

He also called on the UN system to continue to partner with AU and NEPAD for the growth and development of the African continent and its people.

On his part, Gettu called for the focused implementation of the MoU with emphasis on sound technical results that could be used to address the challenges of development in Africa.

He said both NEPAD and UNDP had agreed to explore opportunities for supporting the specific request for capacity development in countries such as South Sudan and Kenya. 

``In addition, UNDP and the NEPAD Agency are also set to work together in terms of the strategic strengthening and profiling of the African position and response towards the current global economic crisis,' the UNDP official added.

Pana 12/10/2011