The African Union (AU) chairman, President Jakaya Kikwete led a team of seven African presidents to the G8 summit in Japan that had food and oil crises, climate change and attainment of Millennium Development Goals on the top of their agenda. Kikwete urged the G8, group of eight most industrialised countries, ‘to nurture and fulfil their promises if they were really concerned about Africa’s development’. ‘The G8 has been accused by activists of reneging on the promise made at its 2005 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, to double aid by 2010 to $50 billion, half of which would go to Africa’. Meanwhile, a momentous plan of action, initiated by the United Nations (UN), estimated at $72 billion a year in external funding to help Africa win the battle against poverty and invest in agriculture, education, health and infrastructure, has been launched at the just concluded AU summit. The AU Commission Chairman Jean Ping said ‘African leaders were looking to the Group of Eight to turn their existing promises into act’ to help the plan initiated by the UN and other partners work.

On the other hand, the AU Commission Chair Jean Ping and President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa are expected in Zimbabwe to initiate dialogue between the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai and President Robert Mugabe. African leaders attending the G8 summit have expressed their concern about the move, spearheaded by western leaders, to sanction Zimbabwe through the UN Security Council. Speaking at the summit, President Kikwete said that ‘although many leaders in Africa had expressed their dissatisfaction at the way things happened in Zimbabwe’, they differed with G8 leaders ‘on the way forward’. Furthermore, the AU Chairman will hold talks with the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon about the crisis in Zimbabwe. Possible agenda items for the discussion will be the replacement of President Thabo Mbeki as chief mediator. Potential candidates include former UN Chief Kofi Annan, former Mozambique President Joaquim Chissano or Ghanaian president John Kufour.

In business related news, Cameroon is hosting Africa’s International Economic Forum with the theme: ‘Investments and Industrial Partnerships in Africa: Assessment and Perspectives’. The forum is expected to promote investment in Africa as well as to improve the level of technology transfer in the continent. Cameroon will also seat the headquarters of the African Monetary Fund established with ‘the sole aim of promoting trade within the African continent’ by achieving ‘African economic autonomy’ and ‘setting achievable economic objectives’. Meanwhile, a report commissioned by the French government has strongly criticised the economic partnership agreements between the European Union and African, Caribbean and Pacific countries. Christiane Taubira, a member of the French parliament who authored the report, recommended greater emphasis on social and economic development within the agreements. Hans Herren, of the U.S.-based Millennium Institute, has called for ‘caution to be exercised in developing African food production to avoid long-term social and environmental harm’. He expressed his fear that ‘the whole crisis around food and food prices will just promote quick fixes that are not really dealing with the causes’.

Finally, AU has endorsed Uganda as non-permanent member to the UN Security Council for 2009/2010. Still, Uganda needs to win the support from the 5 permanent members of the Security Council. Uganda was also endorsed to host the AU summit in 2010.