Issued by: Office of the Presidency
4 July 2001
1. A meeting between high-level representatives of the Presidents of Algeria, Egypt, Nigeria, Senegal and South Africa as well as a representative of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and the Secretary-General of the United Nation Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) was held in Pretoria over two days on 2 - 3 July 2001.
2. The purpose of the meeting was to merge the two initiatives -the Millennium Partnership for the African Recovery Programme (MAP) and the Omega Plan - into a single initiative for Africa that would be presented to the OAU Summit in Lusaka (on 9 - 11 July 2001) by the five Heads of State.
3. After intense discussions between the representatives, the meeting reached agreement by consensus on the merging of the two initiatives into a single initiative, expressed through a single founding document developed through the integration of the ideas contained in the MAP and the Omega Plan.
4. The meeting expressed thanks to the five Heads of State for providing visionary leadership and guidance to the initiative that offers the continent a concrete programme of action with the potential of making the 21st Century the African Century.
For further information contact:
Nazeem Mahatey on 082 376 3820
Director of Communications Research
The Presidency