The 8th African Union summit will kick off on Monday with the development of science and technology at the top of the agenda, the first time the summit is devoted to this subject.

"African leaders have recognized science and technology are very important for Africa's development. They have recognized the fact that most countries that are economically successful have used science and technology," said Dr. Botlhale O. Tema, director of human resources, science and technology department of the African Union (AU) Commission, during an exclusive interview with Xinhua on Friday.

"So, they are saying to themselves, how can we Africans also use science and technology for socio-economic development," she said on the sidelines of the AU ministerial meeting that came before the summit.

The first major African summit of the year will be held against the backdrop that Africa is becoming more politically stable and is expected to see further economic growth.

"African economies continue to sustain the growth momentum, which has built up in recent years," said Abdoulie Janneh, UN under-secretary-general at the opening of the AU ministerial meeting Thursday.

He predicted the growth in 2007 could reach around 5.8 percent, following the 5.7 percent and 5.2 percent growth posted in 2006 and 2005 respectively.

African leaders have come to realize the role of science and technology in sustaining the growth.

"Development without research is short-sighted, even blind development," Senegal's Scientific Research Minister Yaye Kene Gassama Dia has said.

AU's 2006-2015 Plan of Action for Education has identified science and technology as "the most important tool available for addressing challenges to development and poverty eradication, and participating in the global economy."

According to the plan, to achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals, there is no alternative to knowledge, skills and human resources in science and technology.

In preparation for the summit, the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), the continent's home-grown economic rescue plan, established a process involving a series of conferences and consultative meetings to prepare background documents for adoption by the heads of state.

The summit is expected to give a strong boost for the S&T development across the continent.

"Once something is discussed at the summit, everybody will take it seriously. At the end of the summit, there would be decisions, which are binding and compulsory to all member states," said Tema.

Source: Xinhua