The leaders of the 53-member African Union have opened their two-day summit, where they will focus on debt relief and a greater voice in the United Nations.
The African summit beginning Monday is being held just days before the leaders of the Group of Eight industrialized nations gather in Scotland to discuss debt relief for the war-torn, poverty-stricken continent. The G-8 summit is expected to give final approval to an agreement that forgives $40 billion of debt held by the world's poorest nations, mostly in Africa.
The AU leaders are also expected to support a proposal calling for the continent to get two permanent seats and two non-permanent seats on an expanded U.N. Security Council.
Some information for this report provided by AFP and Reuters.
