H.E. Armando Emillo Guebuza, President of the Republic of Mozambique (right) and H.E. Benjamin William Mkapa, former President of Tanzania (left) in a warm handshake during the opening session of the Second Pan African Capacity Building Forum on August 1, 2007 at the Joaquim Alberto Chissano International Conference Centre, Maputo, Mozambique.

The Second Pan African Capacity Building Forum (Maputo Forum) was held on 1-3 August 2007 in Maputo, Mozambique. Organized by the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF), Africa's premier capacity building institution, the Forum was hosted by the Government of Mozambique, the main co-sponsor. Other co-sponsors consisted of the African Union Commission, the African Development Bank, the African Economic Research Consortium, Canadian International Development Agency, Chr. Michelsen Institute, Commonwealth Secretariat, Economic Commission for Africa, European Centre for Development Policy Management, Institute of Development Studies, International Lawyers and Economists Against Poverty, Nordic Africa Institute, the New Partnership for Africa's Development, UNAIDS, and the United Nations Development Programme.

H.E. Armando Emillo Guebuza, President of the republic of Mozambique declaring open the second Pan African Capacity Building Forum at the Joaquim Alberto Chissano International Conference Centre, Maputo, Mozambique on August 1, 2007

H.E. Benjamin William Mkapa, former President of The United Republic of Tanzania delivering the Keynote Address at the Second Pan African Capacity Building Forum on August 1, 2007 at the Joaquim Alberto Chissano International Conference Centre, Maputo, Mozambique.

Declared open by the President of Mozambique, H.E. Armando Emilio Guebuza, the three-day Forum was attended by more than 700 participants. These consisted of the President of the Republic of Mozambique, HE Armando Emilio Guebuza; HE Benjamin Mkapa, former President of Tanzania; Hon. Luisa Dias Diogo, Prime Minister of the Republic of Mozambique; HE Fernando da Piedade Dias dos Santos, the Prime Minister of Angola; and 23 Ministers who headed country delegations. The country delegations consisted of representatives of the public sector; representatives of the private sector; and representatives of civil society. Other participants were ACBF partner institutions, representatives of multilateral and bilateral agencies, and representatives of co-sponsoring institutions. Members of the diplomatic corps based in Mozambique and major development stakeholders in the country also attended the Forum.

The Forum, which sought to examine key issues, strategies, experiences and lessons in capacity building on the African continent with a view to providing the African Capacity Building Foundation with guideposts in the development of responsive interventions under the Foundation's Second Strategic Medium Term Plan, 2007-2011 (SMTP II), was delivered in two plenary and six parallel sessions. The issues examined by the Forum were: Africa: Capacity, Growth and Governance Performance - Prospects of Achieving the Millennium Development Goals by 2015; Capacity Utilization, Retention and the Use of African Diasporan Communities as Development Actors - Challenges and Opportunities; Capacity Building in the Context of HIV/AIDS Pandemic - The Issues, Challenges, Lessons and Safety Nets; Capacity Building in Post-Conflict African Countries - Strategies, Lessons and Guides to Interventions; Recent Development Experiences from China, India, Malaysia and South Korea - Some Lessons for Capacity Building in Africa; Reform of Technical Assistance and Strengthening of Donor Coordination in the Building of Sustainable Indigenous Capacity in Africa - The Results, Constraints and Lessons; Knowledge Management and Performance Measurement in Capacity Building - A Review of Frameworks and Major Issues; and Gender Equality and Women Empowerment in Africa's Development - Capacity Building Strategies and Programs.

Dr. Soumana Sako, Executive Secretary of the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) addressing the Opening Session of the Second Pan African Capacity Building Forum on August 1, 2007

A Cross-section of participants at the Second Pan African Capacity Building Forum held on August 1-3, 2007 at the Joaquim Alberto Chissano International Conference Centre, Maputo, Mozambique

The themes were examined by 42 resource persons (made up of presenters, chairs of sessions and discussants) and discussed at length by the participants in two plenary and six parallel sessions. These generated key conclusions and recommendations.

The Forum came to an end on 3 August, with the Prime Minister of Mozambique presiding over the closing session and Dr. Toga McIntosh, Hon. Minister of Planning and National Development, Liberia presenting a vote of thanks on behalf of the participants.

Prof. Firmino Mucavele, Chief Executive Officer, NEPAD Secretariat formally presenting the Summary of Conclusions and Recommendations at the end of the Second Pan African Capacity Building Forum to Hon. Luisa Dias Diogo, Prime Minister of Mozambique

The Prime Minister of Mozambique, Hon. Luisa Dias Diogo, formally closing the Second Pan African Capacity Building Forum