European and African leaders were wrapping up a two-day summit yesterday, seeking to find more common ground after rows over Zimbabwe, Darfur and trade exposed the faultlines in their relations.
The gathering of leaders in Lisbon -- only the second ever such meeting -- had been billed as an opportunity to forge a relationship of genuine equals.
But on the first day of talks on Saturday, the 67 leaders saw starkly different viewpoints emerge over issues such as human rights and immigration, with the shadow of colonialism preventing the display of any real warmth.
In particular, German Chancellor Angela Merkel's upbraiding of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe illustrated how big a gap they still have to bridge half a century after African countries finally began to break free of the yoke of European colonialism.
After Merkel had accused Mugabe of "harming the image of the new Africa," South African President Thabo Mbeki -- who has been the prime champion of a so-called African Renaissance -- reframed the debate.
"We continue to face challenges relating to governance in Africa, as this is the case with other regions of the world," Mbeki said. "However, to put the matter frankly, by far the biggest challenge we face in terms of implementing our programs on good governance and human rights is the issue of resources."
An African diplomat present at the meeting said that Mbeki then departed from his script and accused Merkel of being out of touch with the political situation in Zimbabwe, where the South African has been tasked with mediating between the ruling party and opposition.
Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir received a similar carpeting from a delegation of European leaders, including Portugese Prime Minister Jose Socrates and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who implored him to allow the rapid deployment of a UN-led peacekeeping force to stem the bloodshed in the western Darfur region.
"We told him it is in Sudan's best interests ... that there is a halt to the massacres on its territory and that in order for the massacres to stop, the hybrid [UN-African Union] force needs to be deployed as soon as possible," Sarkozy said.
Wary of China's growing push into Africa, the EU has been keen to nail down new trade agreements.
"Most of the goals that we set out to achieve at this summit have been largely achieved," said Joao Gomes Cravinho, Portugal's secretary of state for cooperation and development.
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