Assembly/AU/Decl.8 (II) Page 1 DECLARATION ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NEW PARTNERSHIP FOR AFRICA’S DEVELOPMENT (NEPAD) We, the Heads of State and Government of Member States of the African Union, meeting at the 2nd Ordinary Session of our Assembly in Maputo, Mozambique from 10 to 12 July 2003; 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 the Heads of State and Government of the Organisation of African Unity in July 2001 in Lusaka, Zambia [AHG/Decl.1 (XXXVII)] where we adopted the Strategic Policy Framework and a new vision for the revival and development of Africa; Recalling Further our decision on the Implementation of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development [NEPAD] made at the Inaugural Session of the African Union Assembly in Durban, South Africa from 8 to 10 July 2002 [Assembly/AU/Decl. 1(I)], mandating the Heads of State and Government Implementation Committee [HSGIC] and its supporting structures to ensure the implementation of the NEPAD Initial Action; Reiterating our commitment to the principles and objectives set out in the Constitutive Act of the African Union and our common conviction that peace, security, democracy, good governance, political and social stability as well as sound economic policies are essential conditions for the sustainable socio-economic development of the African continent; Re-Emphasising our common resolve to eradicate poverty, confront underdevelopment and arrest the marginalisation of the African continent; Noting that the challenges and problems that prompted us to develop NEPAD as the socioeconomic development programme of the African Union aimed at regenerating and reviving the African continent, have not changed; Noting With Appreciation the Progress Report presented to us by the Chairperson of the NEPAD Heads of State and Government Implementation Committee, 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 2002 in Durban, South Africa; Noting Also the progress made in the areas of agriculture, especially in the preparation of detailed and costed country and region-specific agriculture projects for implementation under the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), and also in the implementation of infrastructure high priority projects in energy, transport, water and sanitation, and information and communication technology (ICT) identified under the revised NEPAD Infrastructure Short-Term Action Plan [STAP], as well as progress in developing the Medium to Long-Term Infrastructure Action Plan; Recognising the high-level political will and involvement of African Heads of State and Government in creating conditions for sustainable development and implementing Africa’s socio-economic development programmes and the crucial role played by the HSGIC and its supporting structures in ensuring the implementation of the NEPAD programmes; Recognising Further that the primary purpose of the African Peer Review Mechanism [APRM] is to foster the adoption of policies, standards and practices leading to political stability, high economic growth, sustainable development and accelerated regional and continental economic integration; Taking Cognisance of the need for the formal integration of NEPAD into the African Union structures and processes and the need to sustain the momentum, genuine interest, support and solidarity created by NEPAD;