represented about 20 per.cent of lnvestnencs in the transport and connunLcatlons .sector i.n Afrlca. At the end of f98r, er(ternal fundj.ng fon the prognanEe of the Decade in the forn of loans and gg9g represented aboul 2! pencent of total investrnents . thus , tfrFltuact6i-i6Eg no! aeeo to bav€ changed slSnlficantly. 62- A nunber of ECA docunents revlew the probleos of noblLlzlng resources 17/ and lt t{iLl be sufflclen! here to recaLl Just a fer| sallent polngs. I?re llrst effor! to soLlclt the asslstance of the lnternatLonal co@un1ty fon the Decadc pnograllne was lhe convenlng of a P1ed81ng Conference by the Unlt€d [atlong secretary-Ceneral 1n Nev York, 1n Novenber l9?9' The evaluatlon of the partlcularly dtsappolntlng results of thle confenence - US$I28 ' 088 foroauy pledged by 12 countries (of i.hon 11 were Mr'1can and one A31an) - showed bhls not !o be the nost effectlve neans of fund-raislng. Anothor approach was then trled.- The Conference of Mlnlsiers of Transport, CooEunlcatlona and P1annlng, ln lts resolution l9f (Xv), requested tha Executlve secretary of EcA Eo organlze a nulrber of lechnlcal consultallve Eeetlngs. Insofar as they repreaented a neH appnoach, these oeegl,ngs contalned an experlnental elenent. 6t, Four of lhese Eeetlngs r.are held duntng the llrst phase and a flfth was held ln l4arch 1984 I8/; fou!' others are planned for the flrst luo ycars of the second phase. Ai these neetln8gr donora $ere lnvlted to lndicate thelr lntenest 1n the proJects subnltted. In general, lenders gradually cane to recognlze bhe j.npontance of such oeetlnEa and to respond posltlvely. The flrst foun meetingE 17/ DEc/TRANscoM/ RT/, , part III, DEC/TRANSCO$| Crll Iv 12, paragraphs 8 g*3g. 'DEC/ TRANSCOM/ CM/ IV/4, (ES), etc. 18/ the flrst neetlng concernEd 16 l{est African countries and consldered tflo
**Analysis**
The text appears to be discussing the economic development of Africa, specifically the transport and communication sector, and the efforts to raise funds and promote investment in this sector. The text mentions the convening of conferences, the evaluation of results, and the organization of technical consultations, all of which suggest a focus on economic development and investment.

**Category**
Transport and communication, Economic development