ADDIS ABABA, Oct. 5 (Xinhuanet) -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair is expected to arrive in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia on Wednesday evening to attend the second meeting of the Commission for Africa, to be held in Thursday and Friday.

    Blair, who was hospitalized last week for heart treatment, is expected to hold talks with Ethiopian officials and other United Nations and African Union officials based in Addis Ababa.

    "The commission welcomes the opportunity to meet in Addis Ababa.As the host city for both UNECA (United Nations Economic Commission for Africa) and AU, Addis Ababa plays an important rolein African development initiatives," the commission said in a statement.

    "This will also be the first full meeting of the commission in Africa, giving an additional opportunity for the commission to interact directly with African audiences," the commission said.

    The meeting is designed to ensure commissioners have opportunities to hear from Africans about the challenges they face,the commission said.

    The Commission for Africa, launched on February 26, 2004, has 17 commissioners made up of African heads of state and government and prominent persons around the world. Blair is the chairperson of the commission.

    Nine of the 17 commissioners were selected from Africa, including Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. African heads of state are working in personal capacity in the commission, not as representatives of states to the commission.

    The meeting is expected to bring hundreds of scholars, businessmen, parliamentarians, representatives of civil society and development community.

    "The commissioners will bring their ideas to Addis Ababa and work on them as a group. Their work in Addis Ababa will be the next step towards their final report and recommendations for action, to be published in spring 2005," the statement added.

    The first meeting of the commission was held in London in May. Enditem