By Ibrahim Nafie Among the most important international developments has been the movement among different groups of countries to generate various forms of association based on cultural, economic and historical bonds. And of particular interest is the way these associations have changed under the impact of regional and global circumstances. One such grouping has been meeting for 25 years at the African-French Summit, currently convening in Paris. And this year President Hosni Mubarak has decided to participate personally in the summit. The occasion offers an opportunity to reaffirm the historical and cultural bonds linking Egypt and France, as well as, of course, the many bonds linking Egypt with other African countries. The president's personal involvement reflects Egypt's total faith in the need to participate in international associations which can enhance the influence of Egyptian diplomacy and which can further the causes of the Arab World, Africa and the Third World. Originally, the African-French Summit was intended to strengthen the cultural links between France and its former colonies in Africa. For France, the association would bolster its international standing while the former French colonies saw France as a natural ally among the great powers. Although participation in the first two conferences, held in 1973 and 1975, was restricted to France and 10 francophone African countries, France's drive to extend its relations throughout Africa would considerably augment and alter the configuration of attendance. Thus, in 1976, several non-French speaking sub-Saharan countries were represented as observers. As more countries came on board, the difference between member and observer status gradually began to fade, until it was eliminated entirely in 1987. By the Casablanca summit of 1988, participation had risen to 38 countries. The last summit, held in 1996 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, was attended by 50 African countries, or almost every country in Africa, regardless of cultural heritage and national language. Perhaps the most distinctive feature of the Franco-African summit is that it does not have a formal, pre-negotiated, pre-set agenda. Rather, it takes the form of a large workshop focusing on a specific issue selected in advance. The theme of the last summit was good government and development. The closing statement of that event offers a good indication of the general orientation of this assembly of nations. It held, firstly, that economic development can only be genuine if it is contained within the framework of a comprehensive, long range vision delineated in a programme that reflects the collective preferences of society; secondly, that the ultimate aim of development is to establish a social system, based on justice and peace, approved by the majority of the populace with respect for cultural specificities, and capable of allowing every individual to realise personal prosperity and to contribute to the realisation of collective prosperity; and, thirdly, that government under the rule of law and the effective management of public affairs are prerequisites to sustainable development and the realisation of collective prosperity. The theme for this year's summit in Paris is African security. The choice is highly appropriate. In recent years the security question has begun to reimpose itself again, and forcefully. Several African countries have reverted to military regimes as the result of coups, while others have been torn by civil war. Rwanda and Burundi have experienced appalling scenes of genocide and ethnic cleansing claiming hundreds of thousands of lives. Regional tensions, too, have flared up, leading, in the case of Ethiopia and Eritrea, to war, and, in the case of the Republic of Congo following the fall of Mobuto, to the successive interventions of Uganda, Rwanda, Angola and Zimbabwe. Africa appears embarked on a new phase of strife. This time, however, the violence has been triggered not by foreign intervention and international competition over Africa's resources, but by purely African concerns. Foremost among these are the fragility of the nation state in Africa and the strength of religious and ethnic loyalties. And threats to security are compounded by economic crises in many African countries, caused by a drop in the price of raw materials and by the failure of many African leaders to balance their budgets. This backdrop makes this year's Franco-African summit so crucial. Development, regardless of a particular nation's ambitions, does not take place in a vacuum. It requires effective government capable of promoting domestic harmony and a regional system capable of ensuring the peaceful resolution of conflict. Since the end of the Cold War, the major powers began to lose interest in African disputes, leaving African countries to deal with these issues on their own. Yet the budget of the Organisation of African Unity, one channel for conflict resolution, does not exceed $30 million. And out of this, only $1 million is allocated to the mechanism established to arbitrate disputes. Establishing an effective mechanism for conflict resolution must be given the highest priority. Certainly, the political will is not lacking. All are aware, for example, of the role Egyptian diplomacy played in the quest to resolve Somalia's problems and the conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea, an effort to which South Africa, too, made a significant contribution. Also, the African nations, collectively and individually, worked to sustain stability in Liberia and Sierra Leone. The open agenda of the Franco-African summit offers an opportunity not only to investigate solutions to the continent's violent conflicts but also to seek to benefit from France's capacity to offer training and technical support to African peace keeping forces. President Mubarak's personal attendance at the conference reflects the great importance Egypt attaches to it. Egyptian diplomacy has worked indefatigably towards resolving Africa's intractable problems because Egypt's vital interests are closely intertwined with many regional issues, whether in the region of the Great Lakes, in Sudan or in the Ethiopian plateau. In addition, Egypt realises, more than ever before, that security and prosperity in Africa as a whole is fundamental to the promotion of Egyptian economic interests.
