Industrial Development Board, twenty-seventh session

Statement by H.E. G.O. Asiegbu, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Industry, Nigeria

Nigeria's Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Industry, G.O. Asiegbu, noting that at the Third Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union, held in Addis Ababa in July 2004, a decision had been taken to adopt the African Productive Capacity Initiative as the sustainable industrial development component of NEPAD, said that the five regional groups of the African Union, covering North, Central, East, West and Southern Africa, had already begun to put action plans into practice to implement the Initiative.

On behalf of the Bureau of the Conference of African Ministers of Industry, he called on the Organization to redeem its pledge of 5 million euros to launch the initiative properly. The sum of 750,000 euros already provided was most welcome, but the balance should be released without delay in order to sustain the momentum for implementation. He also called on development partners to support the Initiative and the development goals of the African continent.