Equatorial Guinea Hosts The 3rd ASA Summit

Obiang Welcomes Heads of State from African and South American Countries

MALABO, Equatorial Guinea, Feb. 21 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Government of Equatorial Guinea marked the opening of the third Africa-South America (ASA) Summit yesterday at the Sipopo Conference Center in Malabo.

The summit's theme this year is "Strategies and Mechanisms to Strengthen South-South Cooperation." On the opening day, officials from Africa and South America stressed their commitment to strengthen relations. After a series of meetings, they will propose a number of projects that will benefit both regions politically and economically.

Activities for this year's summit began yesterday with the Meeting of Senior Officials, which focused on obtaining financial support to implement projects proposed by the ASA partnership. Today, Ministers of Foreign Affairs, such as Agapito Mba Mokuy of Equatorial Guinea, will meet to select which projects to move forward. To conclude the summit, Heads of State from various African and South American countries will convene to address the summit's theme of South-South cooperation. 

In addition, there will also be a number of specific meetings this week, including a panel discussion on "Infrastructures, Energy and Transportation," led by Nigeria and Brazil, and another on "Business, Trade and Investment in South America and Africa," chaired by Venezuela.

The ASA Summit was inaugurated in Abuja, Nigeria in 2006. Three years later, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela held the second summit. Then in November 2011, President Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea hosted the ASA Senior Officials Meeting in Malabo to prepare for the third summit, which was originally supposed to take place in 2012, but was postponed to make final preparations.

The ASA partnership made significant progress during the Ministerial meeting in 2011 when they adopted the regulations, which will guide the operations of both the Strategic Presidential Committee and the Executive Secretariat. These regulations will be fully implemented once approved by the summit this week.

About Equatorial Guinea

The Republic of Equatorial Guinea (República de Guinea Ecuatorial) is the only Spanish-speaking country in Africa, and one of the smallest nations on the continent. In the late-1990s, American companies helped discover the country's oil and natural gas resources, which only within the last five years began contributing to the global energy supply. Equatorial Guinea is now working to serve as a pillar of stability and security in its region of West Central Africa. The country hosted the 2011 Summit of the African Union. For more information, visit http://www.guineaecuatorialpress.com.

SOURCE Republic of Equatorial Guinea