As many as 10 leaders of African nations will join the G8 summit leaders in Kananaskis Country for a working lunch on the first day of the event, according to the head of the G8 Summit Management Office in Calgary.
Their presence is related to one of the three goals of the summit: building a strong global economy, fighting terrorosm and building a new partnership with Africa, Bev Longstaff said Thursday night (Feb. 28).
Longstaff was short on details as to how many and who are planning to attend. When asked whether the list could include Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, Longstaff said: “I don’t think so, but that’s not my decision.”
Fewer details still were forthcoming from the Ottawa G8 Summit Management Office.
“No decisions have been made with regard to this issue at this time,” Mike O’Shaughnessy, a spokesperson for the office, said Monday (March 4).
Longstaff told a small group of MD of Bighorn residents that the African leaders will be arriving on June 27 in Calgary. From there, they will be escorted to K-Country, where they are to meet with the G8 leaders in a one- to two-hour closed-door luncheon. Immediately afterwards, they will be taken back to Calgary to fly home.
The G8 leaders will be arriving on the 25th at the Calgary Airport. They will be escorted to K-Country and begin their meetings early on the 26th. The meetings begin with the G7 — all of the leaders but Russia, which is not part of that group.
The group will continue their meetings through both lunch and dinner, Longstaff said.
The next day the G8 leaders meet again for the morning, have their working lunch with the African leaders and then wrap up by 5 p.m. on June 27. At that time Prime Minister Chretien will hold a press conference, following which all of the leaders will leave for the Calgary Airport.
There is room at the Kananaskis Village for all eight leaders and about 25 support staff each. An additional 1,200 to 1,500 support staff will stay in Calgary hotels, along with up to 2,000 international media who will cover the event, Longstaff said.
The media centre will be the Telus Convention Centre, and a sub-media centre will be set up at Boundary Ranch.
A significantly smaller number of support staff and delegates are expected at Kananaskis than were in Genoa, Italy for the 2001 G8 Summit, she said. Last year the U.S. alone brought more than 800 delegates.
At the 2001 Summit, the G8 leaders were joined by a delegation of African leaders, who presented a New African Initiative, which included a detailed plan to meet the social, political and economic challenges facing that continent. The document, since renamed the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, recognizes Africa’s own key role in eradicating poverty, bolstering sustainable growth and development and actively participating in the world economy and politics, according to the official G8 website (www.G8.gc.ca).
Since Sept. 11 Prime Minister Chretien has repeatedly stated that Africa will remain a central focus of the Kananaskis Summit.
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