African leaders gather for summit; Congo's Kabila absent

WINDHOEK, Namibia (Reuters) -- Southern African heads of state gathered in Namibia on Sunday for talks about trade and the region's wars, but efforts to save a collapsing peace deal in the Democratic Republic of the Congo were threatened by the absence of President Laurent Kabila.

The presidents of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia and Malawi were in the Namibian capital Windhoek on Sunday for the two-day meeting of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

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But Kabila's presence was vital for SADC leaders to make headway in ending the Congo's civil war, which has sucked in troops from six other countries in the region.

"All we know is that he is not coming at all. There has been no communication from the Congo government on his attendance," a senior SADC official told Reuters.

SADC leaders were expected to discuss the land crisis in Zimbabwe. Its effects have spread beyond Zimbabwe's borders, hitting other economies in the region.

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe appeared ready to compromise last week after a meeting with South African President Thabo Mbeki, saying he would move war veterans off hundreds of occupied white-owned farms by the end of August.

But on Thursday, he made a sudden turnabout, denying he had any plans to remove the veterans and reaffirming his resolve to seize more white farms.

"They are expected to exchange their views on Zimbabwe and other issues," Leonardo Simao, chairman of the SADC council of ministers, told reporters late on Saturday.

Free trade pact would boost region

SADC leaders were also expected to conclude a free trade pact that economists say is crucial for the region's growth.

Mbeki's cabinet recently approved the agreement, but three SADC member states -- Seychelles, Angola and the Congo -- are not signatories to the Protocol on Trade.

SADC officials said free trade would encourage the development of manufacturing in the 14 countries of SADC, which has internal trade currently valued around $7.2 billion.

SADC's four poorest countries -- Mozambique, Tanzania, Malawi and Zambia -- would be given special concessions for the first five years on tariffs covering clothing and textiles.

SADC leaders would also tackle the deadly disease AIDS, which has emerged as the greatest threat to the future of the sub-continent and its economies. With 11 million people infected with HIV/AIDS out of a regional population of 190 million, SADC heads of state were likely to come under pressure to adopt a common stand against the disease.

The region has been slow to come up with effective strategies against AIDS and South Africa's Mbeki has earned the wrath of the international science community by challenging its causes.

Former South African President Nelson Mandela, who received a peacemakers' award at the summit, urged leaders to pool their resources.

"We cannot allow differences and unnecessary competition to stand in the way of our collective onslaught against the dignity and well-being of our people," he told the summit Sunday.

However, the Congo conflict poses the biggest headache for the 14 leaders. Kabila's absence endangered efforts to breathe life into the peace process in Africa's third largest country.

The war entered its third year on Wednesday with no sign of an end despite a peace deal signed in July 1999. A cease-fire has been strained by frequent violations on both sides.

There are signs that Kabila is not ready to make peace. He has prevented the deployment of peacekeepers and rejected a peace facilitator, Sir Ketumile Masire, former president of Botswana.

Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe are already bogged down in the Congo, supporting Kabila against Burundian, Ugandan and Rwandan-backed rebels fighting to topple Kabila.

The SADC is made up of Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho, Tanzania, the Congo, Mozambique, Malawi, Mauritius, Seychelles, Swaziland, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

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