PRESIDENT Thabo Mbeki flew to Europe on Thursday for meetings in Germany and Denmark with world leaders where he is expected to push Africa’s development agenda. Mbeki will carry with him the message that he delivered to the United Kingdom and United States during visits there this month — that Africa needs international assistance to develop, foreign ministry official Jerry Matsila told reporters in Pretoria. He will try to dispel the world’s image of Africa as a continent on the brink of collapse and will emphasise that “there are over 40 stable countries that could be a launching pad for sustainable development in Africa,” he said. Mbeki will start his visit to Germany on Friday by opening the South African stand at the five-month Hannover Expo 2000 on technology. He will then join 15 other world leaders expected in Berlin for the Conference on Progressive Governance for the 21st Century. Other leaders due at the meeting are US President Bill Clinton, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin and Israeli President Ehud Barak.