The Urbanization Section at the Social Development Policy Division of the ECA is convening an Expert Group Meeting to review the report on “Integrating Urbanization in National Development Planning for Inclusive Cities”. Urbanization and economic development are inherently linked and the economic performance of African countries to a great extent depends on the quality of cities and the national spatial system. The need for national development planning to incorporate a robust and more explicit consideration of urbanization is thus pressing. The Expert Group Meeting will review the key issues and approaches to incorporate urbanization as an integral pillar of national development planning in Africa and in the process harness the continent’s ongoing rapid urbanization for inclusive economic growth and structural transformation.