Sunday Times (Johannesburg) - May 21, 2006

In a letter to the Sunday Times ahead of a visit to the UK by President Thabo Mbeki, the UK Premier said it was a week in which "unprecedented agreement on a plan for Africa", which was decided last year at the G8 summit and elsewhere, be "put into action".

He added: "We cannot afford to fail."

In addition to Mbeki's two-day visit from Tuesday, London will host key meetings of the Global Business Coalition on Aids, the African Union on a Darfur peace agreement, and the South Africa-UK Bilateral Forum, featuring 22 ministers.

UK Chancellor Gordon Brown is also in Nigeria tomorrow "to press for long-term plans for education", Blair said.

Targeted at African readers, the letter counters scepticism about Blair's delivery on 2005 promises on funding education, dismantling developing world trade barriers, and leading the West's fight on HIV/Aids in Africa.

This week's meetings are also seen as a bid by Blair to make breakthroughs on Africa, which he considers to be one of the major legacies he can leave as UK prime minister.

In his letter, Blair writes that "in an important year for Africa, this will be an important week".

He said while a comprehensive plan to turn around Africa had been agreed to last year, this week could help make sure the plan is implemented.

"Words, of course, are easy. Action is much harder. That is why we are working very hard to turn those words into action, so that 2005 will indeed be seen as the turning point which the millions across the world had hoped and worked for," he added.

Blair also believes a meeting in London tomorrow of companies including Unilever, Anglo American, MTV and GlaxoSmithKline would see a "major effort ... to help the world meets its pledge to make Aids treatment available to all who need it by 2010".

He will further seek resolution on a peace agreement in Darfur when he meets African Union chairman Alpha Konare.

"We will discuss how we make stick the critical Darfur peace agreement negotiated in Abuja just over a week ago. We need to use the peace agreement and the new UN resolution to put pressure on the regime in Khartoum and the rebel groups to stop fighting and provide access to the UN as it takes over from the African Union later this year," he said.

On Tuesday, SA Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma will meet Britain's new Foreign Secretary, Margaret Beckett, for two days of talks.

Dlamini-Zuma will be accompanied by seven ministers while Beckett will have 15 for assistance.

The Bilateral Forum, entitled "Putting Our Promises into Practice", has been billed by officials as a workshop on agreements on everything from investment to climate change.

"The breadth of these talks demonstrates that South Africa is a key partner both for our shared goals in Africa, but also on the big global issues," Blair said.

He added he would meet Mbeki when the forum ends to discuss, among other things, lowering barriers to trade around the world and establishing a fairer system of trading for developing countries. Blair said this was an area where he was "quite dissatisfied with the progress we are making".

He said US President George Bush, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Brazilian President Lula da Silva also wanted an "ambitious [trade] deal which will deliver real benefits for the poorest countries".

Said Blair: "I am determined to do what I can to turn this political commitment into real movement in these negotiations. We cannot afford to fail."

Lindiwe Mabuza, South Africa's High Commissioner to Britain, will act as host for many of the week's events. She agreed that a "tremendous amount of work" would be done this week.

Said Ian Gleeson, a spokesman for 10 Downing Street: "I don't think everyone gave us a chance of success when all these proposals were outlined last year, but this week is another important step to actually fulfilling many of them."

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