Gordon Brown hosted a meeting last week, known as `Pre-G20 London Summit Africa Outreach Consultative Meeting’, with a group of African leaders ahead of the G20 Summit on 2 April. Representatives of several states including Ethiopia, Liberia and South Africa, participated in the meeting which was an opportunity for Gordon Brown to hear about these countries’ economic needs and the needs of the poorer countries more generally.

The African leaders present included President Kikwete, President Khama, President Johnson-Sirleaf, Prime Minister Odinga and Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. Trevor Manuel, as Head of the Group of the Finance Ministers that has been involved in making proposals, also attended.

During the speech Prime Minister Gordon Brown gave to the African leaders, he said:

It is our duty to do everything that we can first of all to relieve the pressure people are facing as a result of the downturn – and Africa knows more about these problems than any continent in the world – and secondly to prepare ourselves to get out of the downturn by taking the right decisions for the future.

I want us to come out of this meeting with not only a determination that every continent – and that means Africa – has its fair share of support over the next few months, but equally, that every continent feels that it can play a part in drawing up the plan for recovery.

This meeting came after an announcement by the UK Department for International Development at the weekend that £200 million will be given to the Rapid Social Response Fund which will be managed by the World Bank and help those living extreme poverty.

-Jessica Gomez-Duran