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President Mugabe joined 80 other Heads of State and Government from Africa and Europe for the official opening at the Rixos al Nasr Conference Centre here.

Also throwing a shadow over the summit was the absence of African Union chairman President Bingu wa Mutharika of Malawi who is protesting the decision to hold the summit in Libya and not at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Gabon, the first vice-chair, took over the mantle in the Malawian leader’s absence.

Also absent for reasons that were still to be ascertained, were Europe’s “big three”: French President Nicolas Sarkozy, British Prime Minister David Cameron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Observers said this alone threw into question Europe’s commitment to Africa–EU partnership.-The Herald