“Africa is rising – Seizing the Opportunity” this is the theme for this year’s conference. I think that you will agree that this theme is appropriate, as Africa is blessed with abundant resources and although we face several challenges, these are far outweighed by the many opportunities that the continent offers. We acknowledge that taking advantage of these opportunities require strong political will and pan-African cooperation, however, the numerous regional integration initiatives taking place all over the continent are testimony that this is indeed possible.