At the AFRA High Level Policy Review Seminar held in Aswan in November 2007, the AFRA countries adopted a Regional Strategic Cooperative Framework (RCF). The summary of this document, known as the Profile of the AFRA Regional Strategic Cooperative Framework, is to be found in Annex 3.

The achievement of regional strategic goals requires active cooperation among African countries based on the RCF. The purpose of the RCF is to identify and prioritise regional cooperation opportunities for the sustainable promotion of peaceful applications of nuclear science and technology, on the basis of an in-depth assessment of the most pressing regional developmental problems, needs, and priorities in the African socio-economic context. The RCF is also meant to facilitate building of strategic partnerships with other relevant bilateral and multilateral bodies, agencies, and organizations.

The RCF will serve as a basis for the formulation of AFRA regional programmes and, in turn, will be used as a frame of reference in the process of development of AFRA regional projects. In this context, it is expected that the RCF will lead to the implementation of effective and efficient regional cooperation mechanisms.

Recognizing the need for technical cooperation between developing countries (TCDC) and for other technical assistance from developed countries, AFRA has put emphasis on the use of available regional expertise and existing facilities for the planning, implementation and auditing of cooperative programmes under six thematic areas, namely Human Health, Food and Agriculture, Water Resources, Energy, Industrial Applications and Radiation and Waste Safety.

In this regard, the establishment of appropriate regulatory infrastructure is a necessary pre-condition for the application of nuclear technology in these thematic areas. This therefore calls for a proactive cooperation in the establishment and consolidation of radiation and waste safety infrastructure in Member States.

To fully implement the programmes and activities described in the RCF, it is vital for AFRA to consolidate collaboration with other partners including regional organisations. This task is part of the Terms of Reference of the PartnershipBuilding and Resource Mobilisation Committee (AFRA-PBRMC) and the Programme Management Committee. (AFRA-PMC).