Culled from Clari World NG ***************** DAKAR, July 12 (AFP) - A summit of African leaders to discuss the financing of the African Initiative, a major development plan for the continent, will be held here in November, Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade said late Wednesday. International lenders will join the African heads of state and government at the November 15-17 summit, Wade told reporters in a statement. "We have the support of the international community," he said as he returned to Dakar from the final summit of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in Lusaka where the plan was approved. The African Initiative is a merger of the Millennium African Recovery Plan devised by South African President Thabo Mbeki and the Omega plan, drawn up by Wade. Its implementation is to be handled by a committee comprising the heads of state of Egypt, Algeria and Nigeria as well as Mbeki and Wade. The Senegalese leader said the African Initiative would begin bearing fruit in the first half of next year. The African Initiative will be the cornerstone of the new African Union, which is to replace the 38-year-old OAU in the coming year with institutions including a central bank, court of justice and parliament. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask] if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------