Blair arrives in Ethiopia for aid commission meeting

ADDIS ABABA, Oct 6 (AFP) — British Prime Minister Tony Blair arrived in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa late Wednesday for a meeting of key figures in his personal aid project, the Commission for Africa, an AFP reporter travelling with him said.

After arriving from Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, shortly after 7:00 pm, Blair immediately went into a meeting with his Ethiopian counterpart, Meles Zenawi.

Blair’s trip comes less than a week after he underwent day surgery in London to correct an irregular heartbeat.

He has pledged to put Africa at the top of the agenda during Britain’s parallel presidencies of the Group of Eight leading industrialised nations and the European Union next year.

As well as attending the meeting of a Commission which is designed galvanise development efforts in Africa, Blair is also due to deliver a major speech on Africa while in Ethiopia.

During his Khartoum stopover earlier Wednesday, he read the riot act to Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir over the conflict in the western region in Darfur and urged the government to improve security there.