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Africa - G8

Africa pushes for longterm place at G8 table

African campaigners are hoping to secure a firmer platform from which to make themselves heard at Friday’s G8 talks near the Canadian city of Toronto. The leaders of six African nations are joining G8 heads for talks on helping the continent fight terrorism and achieving millennium goals to improve poverty.

Reuters
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The key themes of the G8 talks were "growth and confidence", European Union President Herman Van Rompuy told journalists, with the leaders first meeting for a closed lunch to discuss the world economy.

"The EU-Africa relationship is a priority for us," Van Rompuy said. "We insist particularly on the EU commitment to peace and security in Africa."

One of the main focuses will be the health of mothers and babies, with the summit aiming to champion a new initiative in developing countries.

Every year a hand-picked group of African leaders are invited to represent the continent at the G8 summit, but campaigners are this time pushing to go a step further.

"We'd like to see the African Union chairman make a clear demand that they should have permanent representation at the G20," said Soren Ambrose, an aid expert and Kenya-based representative of the agency ActionAid.

The G8 world leaders were gathering Friday ahead of the G20 summit to take place this weekend. Police have deployed a billion-dollar security operation for the meet.

The G20, which includes the established G8 powerhouses and the biggest economies of the developing world, is gradually taking over as the main global economic forum.

Of Africa's 53 countries, only South Africa has a seat at the G20 table, but this year a host of African leaders have been invited.

They include presidents Abdelaziz Bouteflika of Algeria, Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal, Bingu wa Mutharika of Malawi, Jacob Zuma of South Africa and Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria and Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia.

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