|
 JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AP) - Nelson Mandela hailed Tony Blair on Thursday as "very good friend" to Africa for the priority he has given the continent, while the outgoing British prime minister called on rich countries to fulfill aid pledges to the region.
Blair, ending his farewell tour of Africa, said the Group of Eight summit in Germany next week must follow through on commitments made two years ago, when Britain made Africa the focus of its presidency of the G-8.
"We need each G-8 to be bolder than the last," Blair said in a speech at the University of South Africa. "If we give up, we will lose the chance in this continent, rich as it is though its people are often poor, for our values to take root. It would be a calamitous misjudgment and we should not make it."
|