LISBON: Leaders of Europe and Africa gathered for a landmark summit on Saturday designed to forge a new partnership of equals, but with strains showing over trade and Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe’s presence.

Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates said he was welcoming the leaders to “a summit of equals” where some of the thorniest topics, such as human rights abuses and the conflict in Darfur, would be discussed.

“We will have a frank and open political dialogue where there are no taboos, no sacred cows,” said Socrates, whose country currently holds the European Union presidency.

Special debates have been scheduled on issues such as trade, security and human rights where Mugabe’s record is expected to come under attack.

“Human rights are a universal heritage of humanity which we have to preserve and defend.... We have put human rights at the centre of not only our agenda but our strategy,” he added.

The summit is only the second such gathering after an inaugural meeting in Cairo in 2000, and Socrates said he was “well aware of the difficulties, obstacles that have to be overcome.”

Ghana’s President John Kufuor, the current chair of the African Union, acknowledged that history divided the two continents.

“For almost 500 years the relationship between our two continents has not been a happy one,” he said.

“The real significance of the summit must be to lay the new foundations of a new partnership of mutual respect,” he added.

A total of 67 heads of state are attending the two-day summit in the Portuguese capital in what organisers hope will result in a more equal relationship between the former colonial powers and Africa.

“The objective today is to bring about a change in the nature of the relationship between Africa and the EU,” EU development commissioner Louis Michel said.

“We should be ready to speak about everything, not just the subjects on which we can easily reach agreement, but also about more difficult areas such as Darfur, the economic partnership accords, and human rights and governance.”

While the EU wants the summit to open a new chapter in relations, they are struggling to escape the burden of history with Libya’s leader Moamer Kadhafi calling on Friday for compensation for the colonial era.

“The Africa continent has many problems of development, particularly under-development, which have historical causes, in particular colonialism,” Morocco’s Prime Minister El Fassi Abbas said.

The summit marks a return to the European stage for Mugabe, usually banned from the European Union for allegedly rigging his 2002 re-election, and whose presence has prompted ex-colonial power Britain to keep its ministers at home.

Mugabe was one of the last to arrive ahead of the formal opening, following his rival headline-grabber Kadhafi down the red carpet.

Beaming with delight, Mugabe was surrounded by photographers as he awaited the launch of the summit.

Other European leaders however have ignored Britain’s lead and argued that dialogue is the best place to deal with issues, such as 83-year-old Mugabe’s rights record and the conflict in Sudan’s war-torn Darfur region.

Zimbabwe is likely to feature when German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks for the EU during the rights and governance debate. South African President Thabo Mbeki, tasked to mediate in a feud between Zimbabwe’s ruling party and opposition, will reply on behalf of Africa.

While the rights debate is likely to dominate headlines, the stickiest issue could be over trade where Europe has failed to persuade many African countries to sign up to new pacts once existing agreements expire at the end of the year.

Europe still remains the major market for African goods, but China’s presence in the resource-rich continent is growing by the day as it seeks the raw materials needed to fuel its economic growth.

Chinese soft loans, which rarely come with strings attached, have been gratefully received by some African countries which are often frustrated by the conditions that accompany European aid packages as well as red tape.

—AFP