Paris  - The first-ever summit meeting between the European Union and South Africa opened Friday in the southern French city of Bordeaux.

South African President Thabo Mbeki will meet with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, in his role as acting EU president, as well as the EU's foreign affairs chief, Javier Solana.

South Africa is the only African state to date to have signed a Strategic Partnership Agreement with the EU. Friday's summit is the first since the establishment of the Partnership, in May 2007.

The discussions at the summit will focus on South Africa's role in mediating African crisis situations, such as Zimbabwe and Burundi.

Immigration, trade and climate change are other issues on the agenda of the one-day meeting.

Over the past four years senior EU officials and South African ministers have been meeting regularly to discuss trade and other issues.

South Africa has been one of the strongest opponents of the new Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs), with which the EU wants to replace its past trade agreements with African, Caribbean and Pacific states that the World Trade Organization declared illegal.

The EPAs reduce tariffs and quotas on two-way trade with the union. Several African countries signed interim EPAs with the EU late last year. South Africa is one of several countries that resisted, saying they endanger domestic industry. (dpa)