New York — Portugal says it will not discriminate on delegates to the EU-Africa summit in Lisbon at the end of the year. And President Mwanawasa yesterday held closed-door talks with Portuguese Prime Minister, Louis Amado at the United Nations headquarters in New York which mainly centred on the Lisbon EU-Africa summit.

The Portuguese secretary of state for foreign affairs told ZANIS in New York that it was unfortunate that the agenda of Zimbabwe's invitation to the summit was being given more prominence at the expense of other issues relating to the forthcoming summit. Mr Joao Gomes Cravinuo said Portugal, as the current chair of the European Union, would not discriminate when inviting delegates to the summit.

"The issue of Zimbabwe's participation at the EU-Africa summit will not hinder the holding of a succesful summit," said Mr Gravinuo. He said the European Union and Portugal in particular were interested in seeing more cooperation between Europe and Africa. Mr Cravinuo said the Portuguese government felt that it should consult President Mwanawasa on the preparations for the summit because he chairs SADC, which is a very strong regional grouping.

President Mwanawasa and Portuguese Prime Minister Louis Amado yesterdaymet behind closed doors at the United Nations headquarters for bilateral talks which mainly centred on preparationsfor the EU-Africa summit set for December in the Portuguese capital Lisbon.

Briefingjournalists after the meeting, Foreign Affairs Minister, Kabinga Pande said the Portuguese prime minister updated Mr Mwanawasa on the preparations for the Lisbon summit. Mr Pande, who was among the senior officials that attended the closed-door talks, said President Mwanawasa was happy that the preparations for the summit had reached an advanced stage. The Lisbon EU-Africa summit will be the second such high-level meeting between Europe and Africa with the first one having been held in Cairo, Egypt in2003.

Yesterday, President Mwanawasa maintained after a closed-door meeting with his Zimbabwean counterpart Robert Mugabe in New York that the official position of SADC was that none of the member countries would attend the Lisbon summit if the Zimbabwean President was barred.

Mr Mwanawasa, who was speaking soon after meeting Mr Mugabe on the 47th floor of Palace Hotel where he is staying, summed up the position ofSADC as 'No Mugabe, No Summit.'

The unfolding EU-Africa summit controversy was triggered last week after British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he would boycott the summit if Mr Mugabe was allowed to attend, saying the attention of the summit would shift from important issues to the Zimbabwean leader. Earlier in the day, President Mwanawasa held a private meeting with Mr Jack Gryuberg of Greyuberg Petrolean Company.

The meeting was one of the many others that are lined up for the Presidentto woo investors to Zambia on the sidelines of the ongoing United Nations 62nd General Assembly which opened on Monday.