Mugabe attends Global African Diaspora Summit in SA

PRESIDENT Mugabe has arrived in South Africa to attend the Global African Diaspora Summit to be held at Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg on Friday.
He was met at Waterkloof Airbase by Zimbabwe's Ambassador to South Africa Mr Phelekezela Mphoko.
The President will join 60 other Heads of State and Government attending the summit.
The two-day summit running under the theme: "Towards the Realisation of a United and Prosperous Africa and its Diaspora" will be held at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg.
The summit aims to create sustainable partnership between African Diaspora and the African continent through a realisable programme of action.
It seeks to create sustainable dialogue, partnerships and strengthen Pan-African Solidarity for a better Africa and her Diaspora.
The summit, which is taking place when the continent is celebrating the 10th anniversary of the launch of the African Union, also aims to promote South-South co-operation.
The Global African Diaspora Summit is expected to endorse certain pragmatic activities to be undertaken after the meeting.
These include the creation of the AU Diaspora Volunteer Programme that would associate the Diaspora directly with developments efforts in Africa and give concrete meaning to the concept of one African family. 
The summit is expected to endorse the creation of an African Diaspora Development Fund and Remittances and Financial Instruments.
The meeting is also expected to support the development of a skills database of Diaspora professionals and to adopt and promote the Development Market Place for an African Diaspora model as a framework to facilitate innovation and develop entrepreneurship to empower youths in Africa and her Diaspora. 
The summit will also pay special focus transport infrastructure, agriculture, land and rural development. 
Attending the summit are delegates from AU members states and her Diaspora including the Caribbean Community (Caricom), the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR), the Community of South American Nations (UNASUR) and the Arab League.