OAU summit opens as ministers end session
Regional, Politics, 7/10/2000

African leaders are due to open their 36th summit in Lome, capital of Togo, this Monday amidst pressure to speed up the birth of an African union, reported Panafrican news agency (PANA).

PANA quoted diplomatic sources in Lome as saying the present national boundaries, which have been a cause of conflicts among some countries, would be almost symbolic frontiers after creation of the Union.

European colonialists divided Africa at the 1884 Berlin conference in Germany.

Libyan President Moammar Kadhafi has been a strong advocate of the African Union whose seed was planted in Sirte, Libya in September 1999.

The leaders also have other pressing issues to consider before them as articulated by their foreign ministers during the summit preparatory meeting, which ended early Monday.

Algerian President and outgoing OAU chairman Abdelaziz Bouteflika hands over the one-year chair to host President Gnassingbe Eyadema.

Apart from politics, the leaders are slated to tackle social issues, including HIV/AIDS, drought, famine, education.

At least 33 African Presidents or their representatives are expected to attend the summit.

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