1. EXPRESSING our appreciation to His Excellency Commander Hugo Chávez Frίas, President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, the Government and the People of Venezuela for their warm reception and generous hospitality and for hosting, conducting and organizing the Second Africa-South America Summit with such excellence;

2. TAKING NOTE of the Abuja Declaration of the First Africa-South America Summit held in Abuja, Nigeria, on 30 November 2006 and the efforts that have been made since then to consolidate the process of cooperation and strategic partnership between our two regions;

3. AFFIRMING the commitment, as contained in the Abuja Declaration, to continue strengthening the links between our two regions and to foster and enhance cooperation in various areas of mutual interest;

4. CONSIDERING also the deeply rooted historical and cultural ties that have inspired this relationship;

5. ACKNOWLEDGING the active participation of Afro-descendant population in the development of South America as well as the contribution of South American countries to the consolidation of political independence and development on the African continent as part of this process;

6. REAFFIRMING our commitment to foster South-South Cooperation as a major objective of both regions, in order to complement the traditional North-South Cooperation and promote, among other aims, sustained economic growth and decent work, enable social justice, foster inclusive social policies by mainstreaming the effective participation of youths, civil society and gender groups and persons with special needs, ensure equality, respect and mutual regard among states in the global system, promote economic cooperation and facilitate distribution of the benefits derived from exchange of goods and services, as well as generation and transfer of technical knowledge, aiming at the accomplishment of the Millennium Development Goals;

7. AGREEING to exchange experience and foster close and effective cooperation between our regions, with the strong support of the African Union (AU) and the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), important pillars of cooperation among our peoples, already forged by the contribution and role of both Organizations in the preparatory meetings leading up to the Second Summit;

8. COMMENDING the efforts undertaken so far by the Follow-Up Coordinating Committee of ASA to intensify cooperation between Africa and South America and also to promote effective multilateralism for the mutual benefits of the states and peoples of the two regions;

9. RECOGNIZING the outcomes of the International Seminar on the Poles of the South held in Caracas from 20 to 21 May 2008 and the Ministerial and Senior Officials/Experts Conferences held between the two Summits;