AUC Deputy Chairperson Mwencha receives G8 Director Chris Austin ahead of Summit in UK

Addis Ababa, 4 June 2013 – “Africa is increasingly attracting the attention of world powers with its economic growth and trade development in the continent and abroad”. This statement was at the centre of discussion during the audience granted on Monday 4 June 2013, by Mr. Erastus Mwencha, Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), to Mr. Chris Austin- G8 Director.

The meeting was aimed at updating the AU on the state of preparedness for the G8 Summit scheduled for 17 – 18 June 2013 in Lough Erne, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom.
Both the AUC Deputy Chairperson and the G8 Director exchanged on the three major themes of the G8 Summit. They are: ensuring tax compliance; promoting greater transparency and advancing trade in the world, respectively.
According to the G8 program, it was pointed out during the meeting that, the AUC Chairperson, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma will do a presentation on the issue of “trade” especially as Africa had developed an agenda for the promotion of intra-African trade and other forms of trading with the world. .
“Trade”, Mr. Mwencha said, is a good tool for development. He said that the G8 meeting will be an opportunity for Africa to present a common position particularly with regard to the Africa 2063 agenda which is an outcome of the recently celebrated 50th anniversary of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) now the African Union (AU).
Worth recalling that, in January 2013 the UK assumed the one-year Presidency of the G8.
The meeting took place in the presence of Ambassador Baso Sangqu, Chief Adviser to the AUC Chairperson, Mr. Greg Dorey, Ambassador of the UK Embassy in Addis Ababa, and Ms. Louise Thomas, Department for International Development (DFID) representative to AU and UNECA