EU-Africa summit to seek basis for cooperation: German minister

Dec 2, 2007, 12:38 GMT

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.