World Economic Forum on Africa kicks off in Cape Town

The 18th World Economic Forum on Africa kicked off in Cape Town, South Africa on Wednesday under the theme of "Capitalizing on Opportunity."

Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of World Economic Forum, said in the opening ceremony that Africa needs partnership.

Some key issues and key risks and challenges that Africa is facing would be addressed at the meeting.

John Kufuor, president of Ghana, Thabo Mbeki, president of South Africa, Bingu Wa Mutharika, president of Malawi, Pierre Nkurunziza, president of Burundi and Raila Odinga, prime Minister of Kenya were present at the opening ceremony.

The leaders expressed optimism about Africa's future. Kufuor said that the opportunity for Africa was immense, and, with time and good coordination, the Africans could make it a powerful entity.

This opinion was agreed by President Nkurunziza, who said Africa was a rich continent and it had no right to be poor.

Africa has seen annul economic growth of more than 5 percent for four consecutive years. In the year of 2008, the growth rate in sub-Saharan Africa is expected at 6.2 percent.

However, the continent also faces many challenges. President Mbeki pointed out that the instability was the major risk that impacts Africa negatively.

In a report dubbed "Africa@ risk" released before the forum, the experts of Global Risk Network said Africa was facing 26 interconnected global risks, of them, four have been identified as being critical for Africa's future.

They are food insecurity, political instability, external economic shocks and climate change. More than 800 decision-makers, experts and entrepreneurs from 50 countries participate in this forum which will last to June 6.

The first one to be stressed is food insecurity which has emerged as a major risk for Africa. High and rising food prices impact disproportionately on poorer communities, high dependence on food imports and food aids lead potentially to social unrest.

Another negative factor is political instability. Eight out of the 10 most vulnerable and weak states are in Sub-Saharan Africa. Political instability, institutional incapacity and social unrest inhibit foreign capital inflows and lower investment appetites, negatively affecting economic opportunities.

Meanwhile, Africa is vulnerable to economic shocks. Any pronounced slowdown in world growth would affect African exports of agricultural products, minerals and hydrocarbons. Africa's dependence on natural resource exports has made many countries vulnerable to commodity price shocks that are outside their control. Sudden increases in export revenues or import costs can cause currency instability and budget uncertainty.

In the medium term, growing income inequalities might generate social unrest and violent conflicts.

The wealthiest decile of the population across the continent still controls between 30 to 60 percent of total income.

Many African countries appear in the lowest positions of the United Nations' Human Poverty Index.

Africa contributes least to global climate change, with only 5 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, but it is the most vulnerable region to the expected negative effects.

In other regions there is still a sense that the consequences of climate change lie in the future, in Africa it's being felt now.

The impacts on the continent include greater frequency and severity of extreme weather events, raising the threat of further food and water insecurity and more poverty, disease and population displacement.

These impacts are idiosyncratic: there will be local winners and losers. At the same time, opportunities will be created by the need for new investments.

These four threats to Africa's future are not isolated risks. Their drivers, triggers and potential consequences are highly interconnected. They will all be addressed in the meeting.

Since the forum started many years ago, the participants had made some progress to help Africa, said E. Neville Isdell, chairman and chief executive officer of Coca-Cola here on the same day.

"People come together to bring about the solutions to engage the triangle of government, society and business, make them work effectively," he said.

Lebanon elects president after months of turmoil

Lebanon's new president Michel Sleiman appealed for unity after his election on Sunday, a move hailed as the start of a new era after a bitter political feud threatened to plunge the nation into civil war.

"Let us unite... and work towards a solid reconciliation," the 59-year-old former army chief said after being sworn in following his election by parliament. "We have paid dearly for our national unity. Let us preserve it hand-in-hand."

Celebratory shots were fired into the air and fireworks lit up the sky as crowds of people, cheering and waving Lebanese flags, poured into the streets across Lebanon, including Beirut and Sleiman's hometown of Amsheet.

The election was welcomed by the international community led by US President George W. Bush who gave his staunch backing to the Sunni-led government in its 18-month standoff with the mainly Shiite Muslim Hezbollah-led opposition.

Sleiman was elected by 118 votes in a much-delayed parliament session attended by Arab and Western dignitaries that followed a deal hammered out Wednesday in Qatar between the rival Lebanese politicians.

"This is a historic moment," said parliament speaker and opposition stalwart Nabih Berri. "I ask God to help you succeed in steering the Lebanese ship to a safe haven... today no-one in the world can turn Lebanon into a killing field."

Sleiman's main challenge will be to impose himself as a neutral figure and reconcile the Western-backed ruling coalition and the opposition, which is supported by Iran and Syria.

After Sleiman was sworn in, the government of Prime Minister Fuad Siniora resigned in line with the constitution but will stay on in a caretaker role.

Bickering between the two camps had left the presidency vacant since pro-Syrian Emile Lahoud's term ended in November. Nineteen previous attempts to get lawmakers together to elect a successor failed.

On Wednesday, the rivals finally agreed to elect Sleiman, form a national unity government in which the opposition has veto power and draft a new electoral law for a parliamentary election due next year.

The accord came after 65 people were killed in street battles this month between Hezbollah and their allies and pro-government forces.

It was the deadliest sectarian violence since the 1975-1990 civil war and which threatened to spiral into all-out conflict after Hezbollah, the most powerful armed group in Lebanon, seized control of mainly Sunni west Beirut.

Sleiman said he would seek friendly relations with Syria, Lebanon's former powerbroker which has been accused by Washington of stoking the crisis.

As president -- a position reserved for a Maronite Christian under Lebanon's multi-confessional system -- Sleiman will have to tread a fine line to keep the neutrality he maintained during 10 years as army chief.

He is the third army leader to become president after Fouad Chehab in 1958-1964 and Lahoud, who was elected in 1998 but whose term was controversially extended by three years under a Syrian-inspired constitutional amendment in 2004.

Bush said he looked forward to "an era of political reconciliation".

"I am confident that Lebanon has chosen a leader committed to protecting its sovereignty, extending the government's authority over all of Lebanon, and upholding Lebanon's international obligations under UN Security Council resolutions."

UN chief Ban Ki-moon expressed hope the vote will lead to the "revitalisation of all of Lebanon's constitutional institutions and a return to political dialogue."

Syrian state television said it was a "historic occasion," noting that it coincided with the eighth anniversary of Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon after 22 years of occupation.

"The new Lebanese president enters Baabda palace (the presidential headquarters) with the green light of all Lebanese and enormous Arab and international support," a presenter said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, whose government is also blamed by Washington for fometing the political deadlock, said: "Attaining calm and security in this country is attaining calm and security on the level of the region as a whole."

Of the 127 MPs who voted, six cast blank ballots and several voted for other politicians, including slain Rafiq Hariri and other MPs killed since 2005.

Many Lebanese voiced cautious hope the vote will restore stability.

"I have a lot of hope in this election," said Aida Aoun. "But then again we have seen so many others get elected and then deceive us."