Pretoria: International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane will on Sunday, 5 July 2009, depart for Italy ahead of the Group of 8 (G8) Summit, scheduled for the 8 to 10 July 2009 in L'Aquila, Abruzzo in Italy.
The Africa Outreach session with the G8 will be attended by Nepad 5+3 namely the five initiating New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad) countries Algeria, Egypt, Nigeria, Senegal, and South Africa and Libya (as Chair of the AU), Ethiopia (as Chair of the Heads of State and Government Implementation Committee (HSGIC) and the AU Commission. Angola was invited by the host, Italy to attend the session.
Issues for discussion during the Summit include among others:
* response to the Impact of the Global Financial d Economic Crisis on Africa
* fight against Climate Change, leading to the Copenhagen Conference
* contributing towards the strengthening of North-South Relations
* ensuring implementation of all previous commitments agreed to by the G8
* promoting the development agenda
* strengthening peace and security in Africa, with a specific focus on piracy in the Horn of Africa and drug/arms trafficking/illegal fishing/money laundering in West Africa.
The expected outcome documents from the Summit include a G5 Declaration, a Joint G5-G8 Declaration, Joint Statement on Food Security, MET Declaration on Climate Change and G8+Africa Joint Statement on Water.
South Africa engages with the G8 within the context of two outreach programmes, namely:
* the G8-Africa Outreach, established in Kananaskis, Canada in 2002 to promote the African Agenda, especially the New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad)
* the engagement of the G8 through G5 outreach established at Gleneagles, United Kingdom in 2005 to dialogue on key political issues and economic policy questions and promotes the evolution of an equitable global system of economic governance.
Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane will return to South Africa on 10 July 2009.
Enquiries:
Nomfanelo Kota
Cell: 082 459 3787
Issued by: Department of International Relations and Co-operation
5 July 2009
