Africa: G20 Should Use Crisis As Opportunity to Fix Inequity

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The daunting task of making Africa the centre of attention awaits Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles Zenawi when the Group of 20 (G20) rich and emerging economies meet in London tomorrow.

Invited by the host country, Zenawi, who chairs the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), is the only African leader apart from South Africa's President Kgalema Motlanthe to attend the G20 summit.

Zenawi was in London two weeks ago to hold pre-summit consultations with senior African officials and organisers of the summit, including UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown. His message to Brown was clear: that the richest countries cannot afford to ignore Africa in the wake of the global economic meltdown.

His is a belief shared by African trade ministers who met in Addis Ababa on Mar 19 at the headquarters of the African Union.

"As a result of the global economic crisis, more than at any other time, there is a need to place African economic development at the centre of international efforts to build strategies towards the recovery of the global economy," reads a communiqué the ministers issued at the conclusion of their two-day meeting.

allAfrica.com: Africa: 'G20 Should Use Crisis As Opportunity to Fix Inequity' (Page 1 of 1)

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