POLITICAL stability, macroeconomic fundamentals and growth and a plan to combat Aids are necessary to attract foreign investment to southern Africa, a business leader said on Friday. “Those countries who compete successfully are those that rank high on this list of criteria,” said Niall FitzGerald, co-chairman of the giant consumer goods company Unilever. FitzGerald was speaking on the final day of the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) 11th southern African economic summit in Durban. He also identified an effective infrastructure and an educated, skilled population as priorities for investors, at a plenary meeting on investment. FitzGerald said countries in the region should achieve an annual growth rate of seven to eight percent provided they were able to stick to these criteria. Only if southern Africa adhered to these principles would foreign investment increase in the region, he said. – AFP