Assembly/AU/Dec.38 (III) Rev.1 Page 1 DECISION ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NEW PARTNERSHIP FOR AFRICA’S DEVELOPMENT (NEPAD) The Assembly: 1. WE, the Heads of State and Government of Member States of the African Union, meeting at the 3rd Ordinary Session of our Assembly in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 6 to 8 July 2004; 2. RECALLING our decision regarding the then New African Initiative, now the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), taken at the 37th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity in July 2001 in Lusaka, Zambia (AHG/Decl.1(XXXVII); 3. RECALLING FURTHER our decisions on the Implementation of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) taken at the Inaugural Session of the African Union Assembly in Durban, South Africa from 8 to 10 July 2002 (Assembly/AU/Decl.1(1), and at the 2nd Ordinary Session of the African Union Assembly in Maputo, Mozambique from 10 to 12 July 2003 (Assembly/AU/Decl.8(II)); 4. NOTING WITH APPRECIATION the Progress Report presented to us by the Chairperson of the NEPAD Heads of State and Government Implementation Committee (HSGIC), H.E. President O. Obasanjo of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, describing the developments in the NEPAD programmes and activities since our last meeting in July 2003 in Maputo, Mozambique; Progress Report 5. ENDORSE the Progress Report and COMMEND the HSGIC and its supporting structures for their coordination and catalytic role in facilitating the implementation of NEPAD priority programmes and projects across the African regions and more specifically through cooperation and collaboration with the Regional Economic Communities (RECs); 6. MANDATE the Heads of State and Government Implementation Committee of NEPAD, supported by the NEPAD Steering Committee and the NEPAD Secretariat, to continue their vital work of ensuring the implementation of NEPAD programmes; 7. URGE that the programmes identified in each priority area be urgently implemented and that each region and Member State, through the RECs, provide assistance and financial support in the further development and implementation of these programmes and in the continued popularization of NEPAD amongst all sectors of society on the African continent;