Assembly/AU/Dec.413(XVIII) Page 1 DECISION ON THE REPORT OF HEADS OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT ORIENTATION COMMITTEE ON THE NEW PARTNERSHIP FOR AFRICA’S DEVELOPMENT Doc. Assembly/AU/7(XVIII) The Assembly, 1. TAKES NOTE WITH APPRECIATION of the Report by the Chairperson of the Heads of State and Government Orientation Committee (HSGOC) on the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) , H.E. Meles Zenawi Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia; 2. ENDORSES the conclusions of the Twenty-Sixth NEPAD HSGOC Meeting; 3. NOTES WITH SATISFACTION the steady progress towards results-based performance by the NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency (NPCA) in delivering its mandate based on Decision Assembly/AU/Dec.282(XIV) of the Fourteenth Ordinary Session of the Assembly and COMMENDS the improved working relations with the African Union (AU) Commission and increasing linkages between NPCA, Member States and the Regional Economic Communities (RECs); 4. EXPRESSES deep concern that NPCA organizational structure is yet to be finalized two (2) years after the integration of NEPAD into the structures and processes of the AU, and THEREFORE REQUESTS the Permanent Representatives’ Committee (PRC) through its Sub-Committee on Structural Reforms to consider as a matter of urgency the finalization of the NPCA structure by March 2012 for subsequent approval by the Nineteenth Ordinary Session of the Assembly; 5. EMPHASIZES the vital importance of recommending a practical and efficient structure for NPCA that adequately reflects and is consistent with its mandate to enable it effectively implement the core objectives of NEPAD as the programme of the AU , and REQUESTS that the process of finalizing NPCA structure should include appropriate consultations with the Commission, the NEPAD Steering Committee and NPCA; 6. ENDORSES the implementation of key NEPAD regional and continental programmes and projects as reflected in the NPCA Activity Report for the period July to December 2011 PARTICULARLY NOTING the progress regarding the technical support to Member States on Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) investment plans; Rural Futures Programme; Partnership for African Fisheries (PAF); the signed TerrAfrica Leverage Fund to enhance Sustainable Land and Water (SLW) management; African Medicines Regulatory Harmonization (AMRH) with current focus on the East African Community (EAC); Set-up of Capacity Development Expert Pool with UNDP support under the Africa Platform for Development Effectiveness (APDev); South