During the meeting, participants will review a document focusing on coordination by CER, member states and a SSATP program management team, submitted by the commission in its capacity as president of CER coordination committee, to seek ways of refining it further.

They will share experience on the successes of their coordination at the national level, and give recommendations for preparing CER's 2008 work program.

Participants will further discuss the status of the implementation of Bamako Declaration through which ministers in charge of infrastructures and transports agreed to undertake strategy analyses in the fields of transport and poverty eradication, in order to integrate them in their respective national policies and strategies.

In his opening address, the commissioner in charge of community territory development, transports and tourism Ibrahim Tampone hailed the choice of sub-regional institution to manage CER coordination committee.

"I would like therefore to count on the quality of your deliberations and contributions, and assure you of the particular attention the commission will attach to your proposals in a bid to strengthen exchanges between CER, member states and SSATP," Tampone said.

Sub-Saharan Africa Transports Policy Program (SSATP) is a partnership between states, regional economic communities (CER), donors and African institutions for development of appropriate transport policies in Sub-Saharan Africa, both at the national and sub-regional levels.

Trade, transport, as well as links between regional transport and integration are some of SSATP's major priorities, says the project initiators.