The host of the 38th Group of Eight (G-8) summit, US President Barak Obama, invited Ethiopian Prime Minister as well as three more African leaders.

The press release from the White House on May 3 reads:

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

May 03, 2012

Statement by the Press Secretary on the President’s Invitation to African Leaders to Join Camp David Summit

President Obama has invited African Leaders to join Leaders at the G-8 Summit at Camp David on May 19 for a discussion session on accelerating progress towards food security in Africa. The African Leaders who have been invited to participate in the Summit are:

Chairperson of the African Union and President of Benin Yayi Boni

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia

President John Mills of Ghana

President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania

Group of Eight(G-8) is an economic and political forum for eight of the world’s most industrialized nations: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Great Britain, Russia, and the United States.

The G-8 has no headquarters or formal structure. It arose informally during the 1970s from the meetings of finance ministers arranged by President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing of France and Chancellor Helmut Schmidt of West Germany. Before Russia became a member in 1997, the forum was known as the Group of Seven or G-7.

The G-8, now meets once a year to exchange information and ideas—particularly in economics—and to discuss matters of international concern.

In the past decade, the G-8 attempted to widen its reach by inviting the so-called emerging market countries and representatives of developing countries to take part in some of the sessions of its annual summits.

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, along with a few other leaders, has been participating in the G-8 annual summits since year 2005.

President Obama’s invitation, however, left out other regular participants, like South Africa (which has been regular since year 2000); and Senegal and Nigeria (who have attended all summits since 2007).

Camp David is a presidential retreat in Catoctin Mountain Park, central Maryland, established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1942.

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