Libya calls for establishing an African economic union

Within the Summit of African Countries, which was held in Tripoli in mid August, Libya called for establishing an African economic union. The call of the Libyan leader, Moammar Gaddafi seems to have a political significance. Through this conference he tried to give the message that his country is able to break the blockade imposed on it by establishing an economic union with the neighboring countries in such a way that Africa becomes Libya's strategic depth instead of Libya's land and sea borders, which are its gate to the North Africa and the European countries.

Gaddafi's call to use the Libyan coasts, which are 2 thousand kilometers long, has political significance as it gives the message that Libya is able to turn its sea borders into the sea borders of other African countries, thus the blockade will lose its effectiveness.

The other significance of holding the African summit lies in Libya's desire to muster the most international support possible in order to pressure Washington, London, and Paris who insist on holding the investigations with the suspects of the Lockerbie case in one of these countries. Libya wants to tell the world that the sanctions affect the whole Libyan people.

The summit's final communique clearly addressed this as it expressed the participating countries' worry about the continuation of the sanctions and the damages they inflict on the people and the whole country. The final communique called on the international world to support all the procedures and steps taken to find a fair and final solution to this crisis.

Whatever the intentions, significance or the results, the summit remains weak regarding its effects on the political level. Niger, Mali, Chad and Burkina Faso do not enjoy any international weight; the best they can do is to condemn the continuation of the sanctions on Libya without the ability to discuss the details of this crisis for fear of negative repercussions. These countries realize that the parties to the Lockerbie case are international heavyweights like the US, France and UK.

Concerning the economic significance, the conference could create a nucleus for the establishment of an African economic union that could later expand if the circumstances are favorable and the desires are sincere. This will be clear after the first meeting of the foreign ministers of the five countries which will be held mid-September in order to lay down the mechanism for this union. A new summit will be held at the end of September to discuss the details of the union and its feasibility.