Assembly/AU/Dec.579(XXV) Page 1 DECISION ON THE REPORT OF HEADS OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT ORIENTATION COMMITTEE (HSGOC) ON NEPAD Doc. Assembly/AU/10(XXV) The Assembly, 1. NOTES WITH APPRECIATION the report by the Chairperson of the NEPAD Heads of State and Government Orientation Committee (HSGOC), H.E. Macky Sall, President of the Republic of Senegal; 2. ENDORSES the conclusions of the Thirty Third Session of the HSGOC; 3. REAFFIRMS NEPAD as the strategic vehicle to accelerate the implementation of the Africa Union‟s regional integration agenda and RE-COMMITS to exercising strong political will and determination to fast-track NEPAD delivery at all levels within the context of Agenda 2063; 4. UNDERSCORES the role of NEPAD in advancing the economic empowerment of African women and catalyzing the institutional transformation of the Regional Economic Communities (RECs), ADDING that the NPCA continues to function as the economic development and technical body of the Union. IN THIS REGARD WELCOMES the progress report presented by the NPCA Chief Executive Officer and the SADC Executive Secretary; 5. In the spirit of the 2015 AU theme: „Women Empowerment and Development towards Africa‟s Agenda 2063‟, NOTES WITH SATISFACTION the successful implementation of 77 projects in 35 African countries with more than half a million women beneficiaries under the NEPAD-Spanish Fund since its establishment in 2007, as an exemplary mechanism for the fulfilment of the NPCA mandate; 6. APPRECIATES the significant support of the Government of the Kingdom of Spain and CALLS UPON Member States, stakeholders and partners to build on the achievements of the NEPAD-Spanish Fund to sustain its key results and impact geared towards strengthening women‟s empowerment and gender mainstreaming in contribution to the implementation of Agenda 2063; 7. RECALLING the Assembly Decision Assembly/AU/Dec.563(XXIV), SPECIALLY NOTES the scaling up of technical support by the NPCA to strengthen the institutional capacity of the RECs through the roll-out of the 2015-2025 RECs Capacity Development Implementation Plan; 8. DIRECTS NPCA to collaborate with the ECOWAS Commission to support the Short and Medium Term Capacity Plan in the second phase in response to the invitation by H.E. Macky Sall, President of the Republic of Senegal and the Chairperson of NEPAD HSGOC and ECOWAS. REQUESTS NPCA to extend technical support to promote cross-REC cooperation on capacity enhancement involving the tripartite - COMESA, SADC and EAC as well as other RECs;