BRUSSELS: Leaders of some 70 nations in Africa and Europe are seeking to improve political and economic cooperation between the two continents at a two-day summit.

The meeting in Brussels beginning Wednesday will also center on development aid, climate change and migration.

The European Union says leaders attending will include: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon; French President Francois Hollande; German Chancellor Angela Merkel; Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan and Kenyan leader Uhuru Kenyatta.

Notable absentees are Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe, who reportedly skipped the summit because the EU refused to grant his wife a visa, and South African President Jacob Zuma, who accused Brussels of cherry-picking which African leaders would attend.

The 28 EU nations granted Africa 141 billion euros in assistance from 2007 to 2013.

Some 80 nations are gathering in Brussels on Wednesday for an EU-Africa summit dominated by conflict, trade and illegal migration.

Here are some key facts and figures linking the two continents.

Over the last decade, the EU has carried out 14 peace missions, including six military operations in unrest-hit countries such as Mali, DR Congo and Somalia.

The EU also carried out eight civilian missions, to Guinea Bissau, South Sudan and Niger among others.