23rd Meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee of Senior Officials and Experts (ICSOE)

1.The 23rd Meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee of Senior Officials and Experts (ICSOE) was held from 5 to 7 November 2019, at the Asmara Palace Hotel in Asmara, Eritrea. The meeting was jointly organised by the Government of the State of Eritrea and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in Eastern Africa. The theme of the meeting was: ‘Leveraging New Opportunities for Regional Integration in Eastern Africa.’

2. Welcoming remarks were delivered by Ms. Susan Ngongi, United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator in Eritrea, who applauded ECA Office for Eastern Africa for choosing Asmara to host the 23rd Annual Meeting, and the Government of the State of Eritrea for facilitating it. Read more

Welcoming remarks by H.E. Osman Saleh, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Eritrea

At the 23rd Meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee of Senior Officials and Experts (ICSOE)-ECS Office for Eastern Africa 5th-7th November 2019 -Asmara, Eritrea

Honorable Dr. Vera Songwe, Executive Secretary of UNECA,

Honorable Ministers and Senior Government Officials,
Distinguished Delegates and Invited Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It gives me a great pleasure to welcome you all to the beautiful city of Asmara which is often referred to as “Africa’s jewel of Modernity!”.

Indeed, it is with immense gratitude and honor that the people and government of Eritrea are hosting the 23rd Meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee of Senior Officials and Experts of the Economic Commission for Africa – Sub-Regional for Eastern Africa. In this regard, I would like to thank the Sub-Regional Office for Eastern Africa for providing us with the opportunity to host this timely and important event. I would like also to recognize the outgoing Chair of the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts, the Republic of Rwanda, for steering ably the works of the 22nd Meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts. Read more

Statement at the Workshop on Popularization of “Africa’s Agenda for Children 2040”

Distinguished Representatives of the UN System in Eritrea

Distinguished Representatives of the Horn and North African States;

Distinguished Members of the ACERWC Secretariat,

Ladies and Gentlemen;

It gives me a great pleasure to welcome you all to Asmara.

My thanks goes to the ACERWC and its Secretariat for convening this timely and important Workshop on popularization of Africa’s Agenda for Children 2040 in Eritrea.  I am sure this august assembly will find the Report of the Study on Children on the Move very insightful and highly relevant to the policies that individual member States will chart out to eliminate or mitigate the adverse dimensions of this malaise. Read more

Foreign Minister Osman Saleh Statement at Russia-Africa Summit in Sochi

Your Excellency President Vladmir Putin,
Your Excellencies Heads of State and Government,
Distinguished Heads of Delegation,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Allow me to join other speakers to express our gratitude to President Putin for the initiative he has taken to host this Summit. Let me also express our best wishes to the people of Russia for greater economic growth and prosperity. We are indeed thankful for the invitation and opportunity accorded to us to express our views on issues of paramount importance to our Continent and its external partners. Read more