Mugabe, trade rows mar summit
2007-12-08 22:05
Lisbon - The leaders of Europe and Africa pledged to forge a new relationship of equals but rows over trade and the presence of Robert Mugabe marred the Saturday opening of their first summit in seven years.
"We are here to respond to an invitation from history... to write a new page in the history of relations between Europe and Africa," Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates said in an inaugural address to his fellow leaders gathered in Lisbon.
Welcoming them to "a summit of equals", Socrates pledged that some of the thorniest topics, such as human rights and war in Darfur, would be discussed.
Zimbabwe
Special debates were scheduled on issues such as trade, security and human rights, where veteran Zimbabwean president Mugabe's record came under attack from German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
"The current situation in Zimbabwe is harming the image of the new Africa," she said.
"The situation in Zimbabwe concerns us all, in Europe as in Africa. We don't have the right to look away when human rights are trampled on."
African leaders however are determined that discussions will not be simply on European terms and have made clear their unhappiness with trade deals which have been placed on the table.
"Africa intends to draw up its own agenda and take responsibility for its own future rather than run behind others and try and catch them up," Alpha Oumar Konare, head of the African Union Commission, said in an opening address.
New trade pacts
The stickiest issue could be trade where Europe has failed to persuade many African countries to sign up to new pacts once existing agreements expire at the year's end.
Konare said African countries would "no longer be merely exporters of raw materials or accept being a mere import market".
"It's important we avoid patterns of thinking that belong to a different era."
Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern sought to allay fears over the trade deals, saying no country would be pressured into accepting something against their will.
"Poor countries cannot be forced into unfair deals," he told reporters.
Europe still remains the major market for African goods, but China's presence in the resource-rich continent is growing by the day as it seeks to fuel its economic growth.
Chinese soft loans, which rarely come with strings attached, have gratefully been received by some African countries who are often frustrated by the conditions which accompany European aid packages.