Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika said on Friday that this weekend's EU-Africa summit in Portugal will be a "turning point" in relations between the continents.
"I think this (summit) will be a turning point in the relations between Europe and Africa because we will be looking at new areas which will strengthen Africa's economy and political institutions so that we can become better partners," Mutharika told reporters before leaving for Portugal.
The two-day summit in Lisbon begins Saturday.
He said Malawi will ink an agreement, on the sidelines of the summit, under which the EU would give 431 million euros (630 million dollars) to help spur economic development in Malawi, where half of its 12 million people live below the poverty line.
"I have told the Europeans that a stronger Africa economically and politically is a better trading partner for Europe than a weaker one," the president, an economist, said in remarks broadcast live on state radio.
Friday, 7 December 2007
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