BuaNews (Tshwane)
20 March 2007
A two-day Nordic-Africa Ministerial Consultative Forum is underway in Oslo, Norway where delegates are discussing issues including challenges to peace and security in Africa.
Officially opening the meeting, Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Store outlined the programme, which included discussions on peace and security challenges in Africa, the Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Monday.
The meeting would also discuss climate change and its impact, United Nations (UN) issues, global health and foreign policy.
"The Forum was initiated by the late Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh to create an environment in which Nordic and African countries can discuss matters of mutual international interest," the department explained.
The Nordic-Africa Consultative Forum is attended by Foreign Ministers of South Africa, Benin, Botswana, Ghana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Mali, Senegal, Nigeria, Zambia, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.
This is its fifth assembly since its inception in 2000.
The foreign affairs department said Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma on Monday delivered a paper on Peace and Security Challenges in Africa, behind closed doors at the meeting.
Minister Dlamini Zuma is leading a South African delegation that includes Foreign Affairs Director-General Ayanda Ntsaluba and South African Ambassador to Norway Ismail Coovadia to the meeting.
Upon conclusion of the meeting on Tuesday, Minister Dlamini Zuma will proceed to Algiers, Algeria where she will provide political support to President Thabo Mbeki at the African Union (AU) Heads of State and Government Brainstorming session, scheduled for Wednesday.
Mr Mbeki's participation in the Summit is within the context of South Africa's priority to consolidate the African agenda through, among others, promoting the implementation of NEPAD, the department of foreign affairs explained.
The meeting in Algiers is to hold a brainstorming session on NEPAD and the integration of NEPAD into the structures and processes of the African Union (AU).
"The brainstorming process shall be undertaken within the context of evaluating the achievements, weaknesses and the way forward and the Summit will review the discussions already undertaken on integration and also propose concrete recommendations that will be considered at the AU Summit in July 2007," the department explained.
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