Connecting with the African Diaspora

This meeting aspired to forge closer ties between 'Africa and its offspring', as one of the delegates at the summit described it. The summit is the result of numerous AU resolutions, dating back to 2003 when the idea of tapping into the resources of the Diaspora was first mooted. One of the embryonic proposals was to include the Diaspora as 'Africa's sixth region'. Former South African president Thabo Mbeki, who was one of the initiators of the event, was among a number of former heads of state who attended the summit.

Many questions remain about the commitment of African leaders and governments to this initiative, the modalities of implementing the resolutions of the summit and how to define Africa's Diaspora. Africa's internal divisions and the prevailing uncertainty about the choice of a chairperson of the AU Commission (AUC) also tended to overshadow the summit.