Date of release : 08-04-2005

Policy area : General Affairs and External Relations

Event : EU-Africa (Troika)

Jean Asselborn, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Immigration and current President of the Council of the European Union, will meet with the Foreign Minister of Nigeria and current President of the African Union (AU), Olu Adeniji, as part of an EU-Africa Ministerial Troika Meeting in Luxembourg on 11 April 2005.

Alongside Minister Asselborn, the European Union delegation will include the Secretary General of the Council and High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), Javier Solana, and the European Commissioner in charge of Development and Humanitarian Aid, Louis Michel. The Nigerian Minister for Foreign Affairs will be accompanied by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Mozambique, Alcinda Abreu, as well as Commissioners Maxwell M. Mkwezalamba, Said Djinnit and Elisabeth Tankeu.

The talks will focus on the EU-African Union partnership, and in particular on capacity building in the field of peace and security. The European and African delegations are also expected to address the current situation in a number of African countries: Sudan, Somalia, Ivory Coast and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Ministerial Meeting will further discuss the governance process in Africa (including good governance, election monitoring and human rights), the fight against terrorism, regional integration and key issues in the field of cooperation and development.

Finally, the two sides will consider the preparations for the next United Nations Summit, due to take place in New York in September 2005, and assess the follow-up from the last Ministerial Meeting between the European Union and the African Union, which was held in Addis Abeba in December 2004.