Outgoing Annan calls for fast development in Africa

Outgoing United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan called for a fast development in Africa on Thursday, saying that "development is first and foremost an African priority."

"Development will simply not happen if we Africans, and citizens of the developing world in general, don't get our own house in order," said Annan at the three-day Fifth African Development Forum (ADF-V), which is being held in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa.

"Development is never a gift bestowed on any country from outside. It has to be achieved by the hard work and enterprise of the country's own people," said Annan, who is making his last official trip to the African continent as the UN Secretary-General.

He also urged African countries to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by "adopting comprehensive national strategies for reaching the MDGs, and by implementing them in a transparent way that benefits all their citizens."

The MDGs are aimed at eradicating absolute poverty and hunger, reducing by half the number of people living on less than a dollar a day and meeting a number of other key indicators of social and economic progress for the world's poor.

"But whenever and wherever developing countries have adopted such sound strategies for reaching the MDGs, it is equally vital that the developed countries - and the middle-income countries - live up to their commitment to provide resources to enable those strategies to succeed."

Annan also urged African leaders to work hard on policies and actions that benefit all their people.

"All our leaders owe it to their fellow citizens to turn that around. Their challenge is to make sure all the countries of Africa are working hard, on policies and actions that benefit all their people," he said.

Source: Xinhua