Berlin - Next weekend's EU-Africa summit in Lisbon will try
to seek common ground for cooperation between the two continents,
German Economic Assistance Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul said
Sunday.
The minister said a change had taken place in most of Africa away
from corrupt governments to more responsible leadership that has
pledged to fight nepotism and graft.
Africa was enjoying strong economic growth of more than 5 per cent
and provided a good opportunity for investments from industrial
nations, she said in an interview with Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.
More than 50 delegations from Africa are due to attend the
December 8-9 gathering in the Portuguese capital, the first summit
between the two regions in seven years.
Wieczorek-Zeul said the EU planned to use the occasion to
demonstrate its presence in Africa in view of the growing activity
there by China.
Europe's policy was to help people to help themselves in Africa
and achieve greater transparency in the use of funds from sales of
the continent's vast natural resources.
'The actual must be to persuade China, which has become one of the
biggest donors in Africa, to abide by the same standards when it
comes to the allocation (of funds). That has not yet been achieved,'
she said.
The minister defended the decision of German Chancellor Angela
Merkel to go to the summit despite the attendance of Zimbabwe's
controversial president, Robert Mugabe.
'We should not allow our relations with Africa to suffer just
because of a despot like Mugabe,' she said.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has announced he will boycott
the Lisbon meeting because Mugabe will be there.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
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