African leaders meet for first post-Gaddafi summit

S Africa: African Union leaders were scheduled to meet yesterday for their first summit since the death of the bloc's founder Moamer Gaddafi, with intense lobbying for its new top officials overshadowing the run-up to the talks.

The leaders will choose the next head of the AU Commission, the 54-nation bloc's executive council, but South Africa's Home Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma's move to challenge incumbent Jean Ping has made the race tighter.

South Africa said Saturday it was optimistic Dlamini-Zuma, former wife of President Jacob Zuma, can unseat Gabon's Ping, who was first elected in 2008.

“Government remains optimistic that Minister Dlamini Zuma will receive the necessary votes,” South Africa's foreign ministry said in a statement.

No woman has held the AU Commission post. The election by secret ballot will be held on Monday.

Sources close to Ping say he is confident of re-election, counting on support from French-speaking West and Central Africa countries.

But Dlamini-Zuma, 62, has launched a tough campaign and has the backing of the 15-member Southern African Development Community.

Pretoria has been lobbying hard across the continent to drum up support to win the two thirds of the vote needed.

At the start of the two-day summit Sunday, the leaders will also choose the next AU chairman to succeed Equatorial Guinea's President Teodoro Obiang Nguema. The AU chairmanship rotates among African leaders and is held for one year.

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan could enter the race after Gambia pulled out of the running this week. The leaders of the Economic Community of West African States are campaigning for Jonathan to run for the position.

The summit, being held at sleek new Chinese-built AU headquarters inaugurated Saturday, will also focus on boosting “Intra-African Trade,” the meeting's official theme.

Trade between African states currently stands at 10 percent. In comparison, 40 percent of North America's trade is with regional partners and the rate soars to 63 percent in western Europe.

Poor infrastructure, especially roads and railways, tariff barriers, reliance on exporting unprocessed goods and a lack of product diversification are some of the bottlenecks to trade within the continent.

The African leaders will also discuss the long-running conflict in Somalia, where the AU has a 10,000-strong force protecting the country's fragile Western-backed government from the Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab militia.

Insecurity in the Sahel region, where Al-Qaeda linked fighters also operate in several countries, will also be in the focus.

A bitter dispute between Sudan and South Sudan over oil pipeline transit fees, heightening tensions between the former civil war enemies, is also hoped to be addressed in sideline talks.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will attend the summit.

Several African presidents attended Saturday's unveiling in the Ethiopian capital of the new high-rise AU headquarters built and donated by China at a cost of $200 million.

China's investment in Africa has surged in the past 15 years. Until recently, it focused mainly on bilateral relations. The new building suggests a push to strengthen multilateral links.

AFP