Follow-up meeting to Africa-Europe summit opens in rabat

The bi-regional group of senior officials entrusted with following up the Africa-Europe summit started in Rabat Tuesday a two day meeting. The meeting, the 5th of the kind, is held part of the implementation of the plan of action adopted by the first Africa-Europe summit held in April 2000 in Cairo. The plan of action aims at setting up an economic partnership between the two continents and at integrating Africa in world economy.

Africa's indebtedness, conflicts settlement, human rights and democracy promotion, struggle against epidemics and diseases, food security, environment and desert encroachment and the New partnership for Africa's development (NEPAD) are also on the agenda.

The Rabat meeting is part of preparations for the second meeting of African and European foreign ministers scheduled to be held next November in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, in prelude to the second Africa-Europe summit to be convened in Lisbon, Portugal, in April 2003.

The meeting is attended by delegates of the member countries of the European Union, Morocco, and the African core group made up of Algeria, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, Tunisia, and Zambia.

Opening the meeting, Moroccan minister of foreign affairs and cooperation, Mohamed Benaissa, urged the two continents to envision their future in a spirit of dialogue, sharing and consultation.

Benaissa, who surveyed cooperation between the two sides, insisted on Africa's indebtedness and its relationship with development. "African countries' indebtedness, nearing US$ 350 billion, weighs heavily on African economy and finance which are already affected by the hazards of international trade and the fluctuations of the prices of their export-oriented products," Benaissa said.

After he recalled the Moroccan sovereign's decision to cancel the debts of least developed African countries and to open Morocco's market to their products, Benaissa called for a genuine partnership likely to generate sustained development as this is the only way, he insisted, to enable Africa be a full-fledged actor in world economy.

Head of the African core group (South Africa) pleaded for more efforts to foster consultation between Africa and Europe and to join efforts to settle the problems facing the African continent.

The South African representative called for taking into account the resolutions of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, held recently in Johannesburg.

Head of the European side (Denmark) said the Africa-Europe summit is meant to contribute to the development of all the countries mainly through struggle against poverty and improvement of populations' living standards.

He said the Rabat meeting provides opportunity to trade ideas and experience and deepen dialogue on delicate issues.