IGAD Inaugurates its Land Governance Dialogue Platform

08-11-2017, Addis Ababa (Ethiopia): The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Land Governance Project this morning launched its Regional Multi-Stakeholders Dialogue Platform (RMDP) Meeting during an inauguration ceremony presided over by the State Minister for Natural Resources, Dr. Kaba Urgessa in the presence of the Director of Agriculture & Environment Division of IGAD, the Director of Capacity Development at the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the Policy Officer-Livestock at the African Union Commission, and the Head of the Swiss Cooperation Office at the Embassy of Switzerland to Ethiopia.

The overall objective of the Regional Multi-Stakeholders Dialogue Platform (RMDP) is to create an enabling dialogue environment for member states, regional institutions, development partners, CSO, private sector and other stakeholders to learn from each other and identify possible areas of collaboration and convergence in taking forward the land policy reform agenda at country and regional levels.

In his opening remarks, State Minister Urgessa noted that most of the economies in Africa rely on agriculture and natural resources and that land was thus “a foundation block for the sector development”. He advocated for a secured land tenure that benefits all “citizens including women, youth, pastoralist, farmers, and vulnerable groups”.

Director Mohamed Moussa speaking for IGAD Executive Secretary said that that “this inaugural regional dialogue will create an enabling environment for member states to learn from each other and identify possible areas of collaboration and convergence in taking forward innovations in land administration”. He urged participants to “overcome differences, find common ground, build meaning and purpose, and set directions together”.

The representatives from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the AU, and UNECA in their remarks assured of the necessary technical and financial support to the dialogue platform.

The Land Policy Initiative (LPI) was established in 2006 as a joint initiative of the African Union Commission (AUC), the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the African Development Bank (AfDB). In line with their mandates the LPI and IGAD with financial support from the Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC) are implementing a project to mainstream land governance in the IGAD Programmes in line with the AU Declaration of Land and the Framework and Guidelines on Land Policy in Africa.

Outcome document of the 1st Inaugural Regional Dialogue on Land Governance 10-11-2017