Leaders meet in Abuja on NEPAD

African leaders began a daylong summit in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, on Tuesday to discuss continental priorities in the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), aimed at jump-starting rapid development in the world's poorest continent. Heads of state and government, ministers and diplomats from at least 11 other countries were in attendance when Nigeria President Olusegun Obasanjo declared the meeting open. "The good news is that NEPAD is currently enjoying the reputation as the most attractive basis of productive and viable interaction between the international community and the continent of Africa," he said. A key challenge facing African leaders over the NEPAD initiative was, he added, ensuring that it continued to evolve while maintaining the basic framework of interaction among Africans and with the international community. A pre-summit statement by the Nigerian NEPAD secretariat in Abuja said priority areas to be considered during the meeting included peace and security, agriculture and market access, capital flows, economic and corporate governance, infrastructure and human development. Diplomats and officials at the summit said the leaders considered the articulation of African priorities of utmost importance ahead of the June meeting of the G8 leading industrial nations. The G8 countries are expected to unveil the extent of their support to NEPAD at the Canada meeting. But many participants expressed concern over what they considered "thinly-veiled threats" by the United States to withdraw support for NEPAD because of African support for Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe, over his controversial re-election early in the month. Many diplomats also expressed worry about the view of President George Bush at the recent UN Conference on Financing for Development in Monterrey, Mexico, that development aid be linked to economic reforms and the opening up of markets. "We find the type of position countries like the United States are taking quite irritating," Wiseman Nkuhlu, the chair of NEPAD's steering committee, told reporters. "African countries are doing what they're doing now because they think it's the right thing." The meeting is expected to produce an important draft document that will serve as a Peer Review Mechanism that will guide the conduct of African governments. It will include tough performance indicators revolving around democracy and good governance. In addition to Algeria, Congo (Rep. of), Ethiopia, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and South Africa, who were represented by their presidents; Gabon vice-president was present - while Botswana, Egypt, Ghana, Mali, Mauritius, Sao Tome e Principe, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda and Zambia were represented by ministers and senior diplomats. Close on the heels of the Abuja meeting, Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien is scheduled to visit Abuja on 5 April for talks with six African leaders to exchange views ahead of the G8 summit, Nigerian officials said. [For more on NEPAD see http://www.uneca.org/nepad/]