Equatorial Guinea to Host Leon H. Sullivan Summit

Summit provides chance to strengthen partnership with international community 

Heads of State and delegates from Africa and Latin America will come together from August 20-24, 2012, in Malabo, the  capital of Equatorial Guinea, for the 9^th Leon H. Sullivan Summit.

The Sullivan Summits are organized by the Leon H. Sullivan Foundation and held biennially in an African nation to exchange views on important issues, highlight best practices, stimulate discussion, define opportunities, promote private enterprise and foster high-level strategic partnerships.  It is the first internationally recognized summit of world leaders convened on African soil by a private foundation.  The first summit convened in 1991. Attendees at past summits have included President George W. Bush and President William J. Clinton.

“The Leon H. Sullivan Summit will provide an opportunity to strengthen partnership with the international community,” said President Obiang Nguema Mbasogo. “Equatorial Guinea welcomes attendees to see first hand the advancement Equatorial Guinea has made in human development and human rights, which is the Leon H. Sullivan Summit’s focal point.”

The “Africa Rising” themed Summit will address human rights issues affecting African nations, including food and human security, freedom of press, education, building economies of opportunity and others. It will center on the achievements and progress of the African continent.

The Leon H. Sullivan Summit will be held at the Sipopo Conference Center, Equatorial Guinea’s newest facility for hosting large-scale international events. Equatorial Guinea has assumed an increasingly active role in international affairs in the past year. It hosted the Africa Cup of Nations soccer tournament, the tournament’s 16-nation draw in the nation’s modern conference center, Sipopo.

Sipopo has also hosted events associated with the African-South American Summit. It was the host of the African-South America Forum, at which ministers of foreign affairs from 65 countries came together, and it will host the summit at a later date this year. In June and July, Equatorial Guinea hosted the African Union Summit, also in Sipopo.