Delegates convened on Monday, 24October  2011, for the opening of the Ministerial Segment of the Africa Regional Preparatory meeting for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD or Rio+20) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

In the morning, delegates heard opening statements from dignitaries, including Meles Zenawi, Prime Minister, Ethiopia, and Denis Sassou Nguesso, President, Republic of Congo. Delegates heard that the objective and themes of Rio+20 offer a great opportunity to address African challenges, that poverty, access to water and biodiversity conservation are key issues to be addressed in the consensus statement, and that speaking with “one voice” at Rio+20 will ensure successful outcomes.

During the afternoon, delegates also took part in a Ministerial Dialogue on progress in the implementation of sustainable development commitments and New and emerging challenges, Green Economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication as well as Institutional and strategic frameworks for sustainable development.

During the dialogues, delegates heard that: achieving sustainable development and transformation to green economies requires prioritizing action at the national level; Africa requires a new paradigm for modern urbanism as the western definition of a city is no longer relevant in relation to the green economy; and that Africa cannot adapt to climate change, reduce poverty and ensure food security if it does not act against land degradation.

The open-ended drafting group met throughout the day to continue their work on the Africa Consensus Statement to Rio+20.