Libya hosts 50 heads of state in the African Union summit
Regional-Libya, Politics, 7/2/2005

With the participation of Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak and fifty African heads of state, the fifth summit of the African Union will start Monday in the Libyan city of Serte.

President Mubarak will hold a series of meetings with the leaders of the African states taking part in the summit upon his arrival in Serte. The African leaders will start arrival in Libya tomorrow.

Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said the two day summit will review the political problems in Africa, rehabilitation efforts and restoration of the political and security stability in the Sudan, Somalia, the Greater Lakes region, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Togo, and Cote D'ivoire.

He said the summit will assert that Africa possesses the keys whereby to solve its problems, to enhance the joint African action, manage conflicts and to establish early warning mechanisms.

Abul Gheit said the summit which will be held in an atmosphere of optimism will discuss the achievement of development goals, providing health care, cutting down debts, eliminating poverty, providing a better climate for investment and achieving security, stability and peace in the continent.

Abul Gheit met with his Libyan counterpart Abdel Rahman Shalgam for discussing the agenda of the summit and coordinating the stances of the two states towards different issues on the agenda of the summit.

Worth noting that Libya's Leader Muammar al-Qathafi has been a leading force behind the creation of the African Union and its promotion.

JANA reported that al-Qathafi "received Friday afternoon the Foreign Ministers of the African Union member states, members of the AU Executive Council which began its 7th ordinary session, before noon Friday to prepare for the African Union Summit in Sert. The Leader of the Revolution stressed during this meeting, the importance and the necessity that the activities of the current session of the council be serious in the course of its discussion of issues on its agenda in order to reach proposals for a practical vision to be submitted to the African Union summit. This he said would speed up the completion of the building of AU institutions and structures and a mechanism to enable it consolidate its march to realize the goals for which it was established and ensure peace, stability and realize development across the continent, protect the interests of its people, and ensure its active position in the new map of the world which is being shaped in spaces and major blocs."

Also, JANA reported that President of the AU Commission Alpha Umar Konare, stated in his speech that "there is an opportunity before us today to realize the progress by the defining the stages and promoting the pace and it is ample opportunity for us as we will deal with two important issues during the coming months, the issue of reforming the UN and Millennium Development Goals... Any UN reform cannot be realized, unless we speak with one voice, because it is the only way to realize this goal, because Africa represents 35 % of the votes in the UN and all decisions are taken by two-thirds majority, therefore, Africa must exercise its power in this respect."

Previous Stories:
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  Egyptian Libyan talks on status of Egyptian labor   (6/25/2005)
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