Remember Africa Tempelsman Urges G-8

Maurice Tempelsman, Lazare Kaplan International chairman and chairman emeritus of the Corporate Council on Africa, has written to G-8 leaders urging them not to forget Africa at their summit discussions in St. Petersburg, Russia. Tempelsman asks if Africa is no longer a focus of the world's wealthy nations.

Writing in Forbes, Tempelsman, a Diamond trading Company (DTC) Sightholder and whose firm also manages the Namibian diamond polishing plant NamGem, discusses the importance of the Kimberley Process for Africa.

"My experience working with the Kimberley Process, a public-private partnership that monitors global flows of rough diamonds, suggests that it is possible for national governments, companies and non-governmental organizations to work together to enhance the prospect that Africa's natural resources benefit the people in the countries where they are produced."

Tempelsman also mentions the fight against malaria and HIVV/AIDS, and the importance of China in Africa. "In China's White Paper on Africa, published in January, Beijing indicates it support for other NEPAD (New Partnership for Africa's Development) priorities, such as trade, investment, infrastructure development and agriculture. Notably absent, however, is any mention of support for good governance, accountability and democracy. Africa's governance gains are an essential part of the continent's progress. All of Africa's partners, including China, need to contribute to this process," he writes in Forbes.

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) writes Tempelsman, five of the world's fastest-growing economies are in Africa. Twenty-six countries will exceed 5 percent growth in 2005 and the continent will grow at 5.4 percent. At the same time, he writes, poverty is increasing, which is why Africa must be a priority for the G-8 and other international organizations.