Brussels, 22/11/2002 (Agence Europe) - There will be a gathering of 53 African countries and 15 EU Member States on 28 November in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) for their second ministerial conference in the context of EU/Africa political dialogue, in the presence of European Commissioner Poul Nielson and Council President Karsten Staur. Continuing the work of their first ministerial conference (Brussels, October 2001), both parties will mainly undertake the preparation of the next joint summit of Heads of State and Government to be held in Lisbon in April 2003.
The same themes therefore appear on the agenda, namely: external debt, return of cultural goods stolen from African countries, conflict prevention, human rights, democracy and good governance, regional integration and trade, HIV/AIDS, food safety, and the environment.
EU/Africa dialogue was opened in April 2000 by the first EU/Africa summit, in Cairo.