COLOMBIA, JAMAICA, HAITI TO DISCUSS DRUGS AT G8

OTTAWA - Prime Minister Stephen Harper has invited leaders of seven
African countries, plus Colombia, Jamaica and Haiti, to a special
session of this month's G8 summit of industrial countries to discuss
the international narcotics trade.

The seven African invitees are Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Malawi,
Nigeria, Senegal and South Africa.

After Mr. Harper announced the 10 invitees yesterday, an official
cited narcotics channels from the Caribbean and South America to
Europe via West Africa, a hub for financing traffickers by groups in
the organization called al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

A relationship between alQaeda, nomads in sub-Saharan Africa and the
South American FARC, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, has
been singled out by U.S. authorities as a target in counterterrorism
efforts. The Canadian official said a special session on the
destabilizing impact of drug trafficking and terrorist bases in the
African region will be scheduled at the G8 gathering.

Some of the African representatives and Haiti are also expected to
participate in some G8 discussions on development aid and Mr. Harper's
maternal and child health-care initiative.

An official said there would be two meetings on June 25, one between
G8 leaders and the African countries to focus on "mutual
accountability" and another with leaders from the Americas "to address
shared security concerns."

Summit preparations include Mr. Harper's initiative to mobilize
billions of dollars for programs to provide health care and clean
water in the developing world to reduce tens of thousands of
preventable deaths of mothers, babies and young children.