President Thabo Mbeki as chairperson of the African
Union, accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma will attend a special Summit
of Heads of State on the situation in the Ivory Coast
from Saturday 25- Sunday 26 January 2003 in Paris,
France.
The Summit of Heads of State will follow a session
of negotiations between the Ivorian government,
political opposition groups and representatives of the
three rebel groups, which opened in Paris on 15
January 2003.
The Summit of Heads of State will seek to sanction
the outcome of this negotiation session.
It is envisaged that President Mbeki, together with
his French counterpart, President Chirac, and the
Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr Kofi Anan,
will co-chair the meeting.
The attendance of President Mbeki follows his
attendance of two earlier summits of the Economic
Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Côte
d’Ivoire, held in Accra, Ghana on 29 September 2002
and Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire on 23 October 2002.
Meeting with Prime Minister Tony Blair
On Saturday 1 February 2003 President Thabo Mbeki
will meet with Prime Minister Tony Blair at Chequers
in Britain. Discussions will focus on the global
political situation, including the situation in the
Middle East and Iraq. President Mbeki in his capacity
as chairperson of the African Union will brief Prime
Minister Blair about the geo-political situation on
the continent, including peace and stability efforts.
For further information contact:
Ronnie Mamoepa on 082 990 4853
Bheki Khumalo on 083 256 9133
David Hlabane on 082 561 9428
Issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs
Private Bag X 152
Pretoria
0001
19 January 2003
