President Thabo Mbeki is expected to jet off to Paris, France, to attend the two-day Franco-Africa Summit that will commence on Thursday.

He will join foreign affairs minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma who flew to France earlier this week to lay the basis for the summit discussions.

According to the department of foreign affairs (DFA), South Africa' s presence at the Summit is highly strategic as Chairperson of both the African Union (AU) and the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).

‘Discussions at the Summit will be on the AU, Nepad, the role of civil society and political partnerships between Africa and the world,’ said the DFA, adding that conflict prevention and resolution would be discussed in the wake of several conflicts on the continent, with Cote d’ Voire, a worrying flashpoint.

The Western African country has been plunged in a five-month civil war that has killed thousands and displaced hundreds more.

Recently, Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo signed a French administered peace pact with the Patriotic Movement Ivory Coast. The deal is yet to be implemented.

At the Summit, President Mbeki is expected to lead discussions on the continent’s socio-economic plan, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development.

On Friday, together with minister Dlamini-Zuma, the President will depart for Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia for the 13th NAM Summit, which kicks off on Saturday and will end on 25 February.

South Africa will hand over the baton under the leadership of President Mbeki to Malaysia.

Issues to be discussed at the NAM Summit include challenges facing the movement in the current context. Critical will be discussions around the situation in Iraq and the Middle East.

During its tenure as chair, South Africa, among others, oversaw a ministerial visit, led by minister Dlamini Zuma, to Ramallah in Palestine to express solidarity with the people of Palestine through a meeting with President Yasser Arafat.

‘In addition, the movement continues to play a major role with regard to averting a war with Iraq,’ said the DFA.

The department said today’s debate on the report of the UN Inspectors would include the general membership of the UN, thanks to efforts and interventions by the NAM under the leadership of South Africa.

‘As President Mbeki stated during the 57th Session of the UN General Assembly, the multilateral system of governance remains our only response to current challenges facing humanity. In this context, South Africa will continue to play a meaningful role in multilateral institutions such as the NAM and UN to ensure the achievement of the strategic objective of creating a better world for all.’
Meanwhile, government is continuing to intensify its efforts by making last minute preparations to send its team of experts on the destruction of weapons of mass destruction to Iraq.

In his State of the Nation address last week, President Mbeki confirmed that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had accepted South Africa’s offer to send an envoy to the oil rich country to share with the government, scientists, engineers, technicians and people of Iraq its experience relevant to the mission of the UN and Iraq to eradicate weapons of mass destruction, under international supervision.

‘We trust that this intervention will help to ensure the necessary proper cooperation between the United Nations inspectors and Iraq, so that the issue of weapons of mass destruction is addressed satisfactorily, without resorting to war,' President Mbeki said.

South Africa voluntarily destroyed its weapons of mass destruction in 1993 prior to the first democratic elections that heralded a historic transition from an apartheid form of government to a democratic one. -BuaNews