Mubarak to discuss with African leaders issues of reform, peace, stability
Egypt-Regional, Politics, 4/11/2005

Sharm el-Sheikh will witness next week intense political activities on the African arena, where President Hosni Mubarak will hold four summits.

The summits aim at promoting solutions for the various African conflicts,realizing security and stability and promoting development and cooperation efforts.

The first summit is a tete-a-tete summit with Ethiopian Prime Minister Neles Zenawi, the second the new partnership for peer review mechanism summit and the fourth a six-way summit on Darfur.

President Mubarak starts his activities with talks with Zenawi on April 16-17 within the context of the cooperation agreement of the two leaders signed in Cairo in 1993.

They will discuss promoting water resources and the Nile Basin initiative that President Mubarak launched for effective cooperation for the nine countries on the Nile. They will also review political and security cooperation in Africa, especially in the Greater Lakes, east Africa and the Horn of Africa.

On April 19th, the 13th meeting of implementation committee of the New Partnership for Africa Development (NEPAD), will be held.

The committee, the highest authority entitled to follow up the implementation of the NEPAD initiative, groups the leaders of 20 African countries, including Algeria, Senegal, South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Mozambique, Angola, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Kenya, Gabon, Cameron, Congo, Ghana, Mali, Botswana and Mauritius. The next one is the third summit of the NEPAD peer review mechanism.

Both summits reflect Egypt's keenness on enhancing its relations with the African countries.

The NEPAD summit will be preceded by foreign ministerial meetings on Monday to discuss items on the summits' agendas.

The fourth summit is the six-way summit on Darfur, to group besides Egypt, the leaders of Libya, Sudan, Nigeria, Chad and Gabon, the latest addition to the five-way summit.

It is to probe securing peace in Darfur, comprehensive national reconciliation and promoting the African Union's efforts to contain the situation there within the African context.

In earlier statements to MENA, Ambassador Ibrahim Ali Hassan, Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul -Gheit's counselor, said for the first time the African continent pinpoints by itself the problems facing it either in the security, democracy, human rights or any other field through NEPAD. The Continent also puts forth its vision of solving these problems, he added.

The NEPAD has now become the African Union (AU)'s development program in the African Continent, he said. As for the peer review mechanism, he said the NEPAD was keen that all African countries would be able to exchange expertise to deepen democracy, human rights respect and development.

He made clear that accession into this committee is optional as it is governed by every African country's desire to benefit from its neighborly country to improve the performance of its institutions.

Previous Stories:
  Izzat Saad el-Sayyed: Egypt launches initiatives on Afro-Asian strategic partnership   (4/4/2005)
  Mubarak and 53 African leaders discuss African problems in Abuja tomorrow   (1/29/2005)
  Abul Gheit: Cooperation between Egypt, African continent political decision   (1/28/2005)

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