OAU chief briefs G8 on plans for African Union

The head of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), Amara Essy, has held meetings with representatives of the G8 group of industrialised nations to brief them on progress being made towards establishing the African Union. Essy met the officials as part of his efforts to build up support during the transition from the OAU to the African Union (AU). "The African Union is a very old dream we want to translate into reality," he said in a press statement released in Addis Ababa on Wednesday. He added that the continent's future lay in such a union. The African Union is supposed to act along the same lines as the European Union and will come into existence later this year. The idea of the African Union came into being after high-level talks between 40 of the 53 member states of the OAU in Libya in March 2001, and is aimed at achieving greater unity and solidarity between African countries. Among key aspects of the new African Union are a pan-African parliament, a court of justice and a central bank. Essy, who took over as Secretary General of the OAU in September 2001, said that he would soon establish a high level Advisory Panel involving Africans and non-Africans to work on the transition process. The G8 members include the US, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia.