• It will be recalled that the First Conference of African Ministers in Charge Integration (COMAI I) held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso from the 30th to the 31st March 2006, on the Rationalization of the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and the Second Conference of African Ministers in Charge of Integration (COMAI II), held in Kigali, Rwanda from the 26th to the 27th July 2007. The two conferences mentioned above recognized the important role-played by regional economic communities (RECs) as central pillars for achieving continental integration. In addition, these conferences underscored the need to rationalize and harmonize the activities and programmes of RECs, with a view to accelerating African integration process.

A number of recommendations were made during COMAI I and II. These recommendations focused on the following major elements:

• Need to review the Abuja Treaty, taking into account, the Sirte Declaration of 9.9.99;
• Need to elaborate a Minimum Integration Programme (MIP) for RECs;
• Need for the African Union Commission to coordinate the activities of RECs;
• Need to put in place, a monitoring mechanism for the implementation of the recommendations of COMAI I and II;
• Need to harmonize the policies and programmes among RECs, as a key strategy to enhance rationalization process; and
• Need to encourage and promote free movement of persons, goods capital and services among and across all RECs, in order bring about accelerated continental integration

It should be recalled that since the institutionalization of these Conferences, a number of achievements can be outlined, in the area of accelerating African integration process, in line with the provisions of the Sirte Declaration of 9.9.99. These achievements, include among others:

• Holding of regional consultations is Accra and Lusaka in 2006;
• Development of a roadmap for the rationalization process;
• Finalization of a study on the review of the Abuja Treaty and elaboration of a Minimum Integration Programme;
• Establishment of African premier financial institutions, namely: the African Monetary Fund (AMF); African Investment Bank (AIB) and African Central Bank (ACB);
• Signing, on 27 January 2008, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, of a Protocol on Relations between the AU and the REC, during the 10th Ordinary Session of  the  Assembly of the Union;
• Study on quantification of scenarios for the rationalization process, to be commenced in mid-2008.

It is in accordance with the Decisions and recommendations mentioned above, that the Third Conference African Ministers of Integration (i COMAI III) will be held in May 2008 and is scheduled to take place in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, at the invitation of the Government of Cote d’Ivoire.