Translated material
Africans are expensive
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and Arab League Secretary General Amr Musa arrived in Sirte. According to the latter, "What African countries want most is the cancellation of all their debts." This is about $230 billion, and the G8 has agreed to write off debt. President Vladimir Putin recently recalled that Russia, in terms of the figures for writing off these debts (35 billion dollars have already been written off), ranks “second after France and Japan” and first in terms of the ratio to GDP.
However, the Russian president believes that the most effective way to solve the problems of the poorest countries is “not by injecting money, but by changing economic policy and opening markets.”
At the AU summit, debate broke out over who would permanently represent Africa in the UN Security Council. According to the UN reform project, the five permanent members of the Security Council should be joined by six new ones. Two seats are reserved for Africa. Egypt has the best chances from North Africa and Nigeria from Black Africa. But besides them, Angola, Kenya, Libya, Senegal, South Africa and even tiny Gambia want to become permanent members of the Security Council.
Today in Sirte, documents may be signed on the creation of structures within the AU that, on behalf of the entire continent, would negotiate with international economic and financial organizations. The topic of forming a Pan-African peacekeeping force is also being discussed.
The AU was created in July 2002 on the model of the European Union and became the successor to the Organization of African Unity, which existed since 1963 and served mainly as a forum for the presentation of opinions.