Pohamba also not attending EU-Africa Summit

President Hifikepunye Pohamba will not be attending the upcoming European Union-Africa Summit in Brussels starting tomorrow, joining Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and South African President Jacob Zuma as notable absentees. This was confirmed by the Minister of Presidential Affairs Dr Albert Kawana, who indicated that Prime Minister Dr Hage Geingob has been delegated to attend the summit. “The prime minister was delegated a long time ago to attend the summit, because the President had already accepted the invitation by his counterpart in Senegal (President Macky Sall).” Pohamba will visit the West African country this week. This confirmation comes hours after international media reported that Zuma will also not be part of the summit due to "other commitments". Instead, that country will be represented by Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Maite Nkoana-Mashabane. South African authorities would reportedly not say whether Zuma's decision was taken in solidarity with Mugabe, whose government called for a boycott of the meeting due to what it called the selective nature of the event. Yesterday, Kawana maintained that Pohamba’s decision not to attend was reached before the planning of the two-day summit. The summit will afford Africa and Europe the opportunity to further strengthen political and socio-economic cooperation between the two continents. WINDHOEK ELVIS MURARANGANDA