President Mbeki to attend AU Peace and Security Council Meeting

Pretoria - South African President Thabo Mbeki, supported by Foreign Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, will attend the African Union Peace and Security Council Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Tuesday 17 October 2006. The AU Peace and Security Council will to review the situation in Côte d'Ivoire.

President Mbeki will attend this Summit within the context of efforts by the African Union and ECOWAS to help the leadership and people of Côte d'Ivoire resolve their political challenges.

This meeting follows a special summit convened by United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan on the margins of the 61st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA61) in New York on 20 September 2006 and the subsequent visit to Côte d'Ivoire by President Thabo Mbeki on Monday 25 September 2006.

The New York meeting mandated the regional grouping ECOWAS to meet, following which recommendations would be made to the AU Peace and Security Council and subsequently the United Nations Security Council.

Accordingly, recommendations from the ECOWAS Summit held on Friday 6 October 2006 in Abuja will be presented to the Heads of State in Ethiopia on Tuesday 17 October 2006.

President Mbeki is expected to return to South Africa on Wednesday 18 October 2006.

Issued by Ronnie Mamoepa on 082 990 4853

Department of Foreign Affairs
Private Bag X152
Pretoria
0001

15 October 2006