President Thabo Mbeki departs for Accra in Ghana on Saturday for the African Union summit meeting, the Department of Foreign Affairs said. The summit for heads of state and government runs from Sunday to Tuesday.
The South African delegation includes Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma. Public Service and Administration Minister Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi will also attend, as part of the effort towards consolidating the African agenda through building the AU institutions.
The AU summit is due to discuss the political and economic integration of the continent, on the basis of recommendations made by the AU executive council of foreign ministers held in Durban in March.
The issue of political and economic integration has remained on the agenda since the establishment of the Organisation of African Unity in 1963 in Addis Ababa.
During his visit to Ghana, Mbeki will also participate in the meeting of the AU heads of state and government implementation committee of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, where South Africa’s peer-review report will be tabled for discussion.
Mbeki will also participate in the launch of the Pan-African Infrastructure Development Fund. The fund is intended to help address the challenge of access to capital for infrastructural development on the continent and will provide a backbone for African growth and economic development.
It will also help address the challenges of those regions of the continent with huge infrastructural projects but without enough capital to finance them.
After the AU summit in Ghana, Mbeki will leave for Côte d’Ivoire on Wednesday, at the invitation of Prime Minister Guillaume Soro. He will attend the ”Flames of Peace” ceremony in Bouake to mark the symbolic start of the disarmament process in Côte d’Ivoire.
The ceremony is expected to be attended by Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo, Ghana President John Kuofor and Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore, who played a major role in facilitating the peace agreement between Gbagbo and Soro. — Sapa