US president to host 18 leaders in August

Posted on Monday 28 June 2010 - 10:02
Kemo Cham, AfricaNewsreporter in Dakar, Senegal
The United States President Barack Obama has invited 18 African leaders to celebrate the 50th anniversary of independences of their countries. An anonymous senior U.S. administration source, speaking on the sidelines of the just concluded G8 Summit in Huntsville, Canada, that the presidential gathering is scheduled for August in Washington.

A report by French magazine, Jeune Afrique, said that Obama embarked in an extended engagement during the first day of the Summit in Canada, holding sessions in the afternoon with several African heads of states, including the presidents of Senegal, Malawi, Algeria and Ethiopia.
Alongside those of Nigeria and South Africa, the leaders of these African countries were among other non G8 member countries invited to the Huntsville meeting of the 8 most industrialized nations in the world.
It is at this meeting with African leaders that President Obama reportedly made the invitation announcement, Jeune Afrique said.
Fresh start
The US president, who is said to be looking for a “fresh start”, was quoted by a second Jeune Afrique source as saying since independence, "there were many disappointments, much frustration, and now 50 years later, we want to make a fresh start."
The G8 Summit saw a number of key issues discussed, among them the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), maternal, newborn and child health, food security as well as aid to Africa.
Some African nations have since been demanding more transparency and involvement of the continent in many international gatherings, among them the G8 Summit.
 
by africanews.com