Ministers and officials from forty-six African countries are gathering in Washington for the first meeting of its kind on African-American Policy. Begins 1330 gmt The three-day conference, which will include senior American government officials, comes just a year after President Clinton's visit to Africa.

Correspondents say many promises made during that period have not been fulfilled and President Clinton is expected to set out goals for the new US-Africa partnership for the twenty-first century.

Amongst the issues to be discussed are conflict resolution, democracy, agriculture and health. The only countries not invited are Sudan and Libya who are accused of sponsoring terrorism and Somalia because it has no central government.