29 January 2007
Pretoria: South African President Thabo Mbeki, supported by Foreign Minister
Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, will lead a senior South African government
delegation to the 8th Summit of African Union Heads of State and Government and
6th African Peer Review Forum in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia scheduled from Sunday to
Tuesday, 28 to 30 January 2007.
President Mbeki will attend this Summit within the context of South Africa's
commitment to consolidate the African agenda through, among others, the
strengthening of the institutions of the African Union.
Minister Dlamini Zuma led a senior delegation to the deliberations of
African Union Ministers of Foreign Affairs from Thursday to Friday, 25 to 26
January 2007, which laid the foundation for the Summit of Heads of State and
Government.
African Peer Review Forum (APRF)
President Mbeki will attend the 6th African Peer Review Forum and the New
Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) Heads of State and Government
Implementation Committee (HSGIC) meeting in Addis Ababa on Sunday, 28 January
2007.
It is expected that the country report of South Africa will be presented at
the APRF on Sunday, 28 January 2007.
The Forum will examine cross-cutting issues as well as core issues of
general application to a number of countries arising out of the African Peer
Review Mechanism (APRM) reports of the countries already peer reviewed.
Issues on the agenda of the APRF will include:
* Peer review of South Africa
* First Annual Report on Implementation of Ghana's Programme of Action.
* Statement on the Implementation of the Rwanda Programme of Action
* Statement on the Implementation of Kenya's Programme of Action.
African Union Summit of Heads of State and Government
The 2007 Summit will focus on two main themes:
* The role of Science, Technology and Scientific Research for the
Development of Africa
* Climate change in Africa.
In addition, African Union Heads of State and Government are expected to
adopt the budget of the Organisation for 2007.
Launch of 2010 African Legacy Project
In line with the general consensus to make the 2010 FIFA World Cup a truly
African event, South Africa, Ethiopia and the African Union will be hosting the
launch of the 2010 FIFA African Legacy Project at a dinner hosted in honour of
FIFA President Sepp Blatter and African Heads of State and Government in Addis
Ababa.
The Summit will also serve as a platform from which to launch 2007 as the
International year of African football. In this regard, the Khartoum Summit in
January 2006, declared 2007 as the International Year of African Football. The
Confederation of African Football (CAF) will, in 2007, also celebrate its 50th
Anniversary and the FIFA 2010 World Cup will be launched as an African
event.
For further information, please contact:
Ronnie Mamoepa
Cell: 082 990 4853
Issued by: Department of Foreign Affairs
29 January 2007
Source: SAPA
