African Union summit about to open in Addis Ababa

Ethiopia has said it will welcome Eritrean President Isayas Afeworki if he comes to the capital, Addis Ababa, for the African Union (AU) summit, which will convene on Saturday. Haile Kiros, who in charge of the preparations for the summit for Ethiopia, which is hosting the four-day meeting, said differences had to be put aside for the sake of Africa.

"This is not a bilateral summit, this is an AU summit, so irrespective of our differences with Eritrea or any [other] country, we have to see this in terms of the whole AU," he said. "So if he comes, he will get the same treatment as the other heads of state. We have not got any confirmation, but I hope he will come," he added.

The move would represent the first time the Eritrean president came to Ethiopia since the two countries fought their costly and bloody war which ended in December 2000.

Rumours have been circulating within the diplomatic community that he will attend, but he has yet to confirm whether or not he will do so.

Ethiopia has launched a massive security crackdown ahead of the summit, with heavily armed troops patrolling the capital. Security at major hotels has also been stepped up, including the five-star Sheraton, where many of the leaders will be staying.

The Ethiopian authorities say the massive security presence has been ordered in the context of the 1995 assassination attempt on Egyptian President Husni Mubarak and the events of 11 September in the US, according to Haile. He added that another reason was the need to guard against possible attacks by the rebel Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). Several terrorist attacks in the city over the past year have been blamed on the OLF, which is fighting for independence for the Oromiya region.

The proceedings of the summit will begin on Monday after ministers have done preliminary work at an executive council meeting over the weekend. Dozens of leaders are expected to attend, including Libya’s Col Mu'ammar al-Qadhafi, who is expected to be accompanied by an entourage of several hundred strong, including female security personnel. Several hotels in the capital, including the Imperial near Bole International Airport, have been booked up for this entourage.

The summit, due to end on Tuesday, is to address sticking points between the leaders arising from their meeting in South Africa last year. On Monday the heads of state summit will seek to resolve issues which arose after the birth of the AU in July 2002.

The huge bill for the summit will be met in part by the impoverished Ethiopian government and private investors. Billionaire businessman Sheikh Mohammed Al Amoudi, who owns the Sheraton Hotel, is understood to have footed the bill for dozens of top-of-the-range Mercedes cars, which will ferry the leaders to the meetings at the UN conference centre. Ethiopia also opened a new multi-million dollar international terminal at the city’s airport in readiness for the summit.