Investment conference opens in Botswana

Some one-hundred-and-forty delegates, including five heads of state, are due in Botswana on Thursday for a conference to assess the private sector's role in the development of the continent.

A Botswana presidential spokesman, Bapasi Mphusu said the gathering -- the Global Coalition for Africa -- will discuss how governments and the private sector can co-operate to attract both foreign and local investment.

He said that African governments needed to take positive steps to encourage the private sector.

The group was formed in 1990 to encourage growth within the continent. It is expected to look at a new plan -- officially launched in Nigeria earlier this week -- to try to present a common front when Africa deals with the developed world.

Five African leaders are expected at Thursday's meeting - President Festus Mogae of Botswana; presidents Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, Paul Kagame of Rwanda and Frederick Chiluba of Uganda.

Also attending will be the Ethiopian Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi, and the South African deputy president, Jacob Zuma.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service