Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will take part in the African Union Summit, due to kick off later in the day in the South African City of Johannesburg.

Abbas arrived in Johannesburg late Saturday accompanied by a high-level delegation including Foreign Minister Riyadh al Maliki, Presidential Spokesman Nabil Abu Rdeinah, Presidential Adviser for Diplomatic Affairs Magdy Khaledi, Palestinian Ambassador to Tunisia Salman Harfi and Palestinian Ambassador to South Africa Abdel Hafeez Nofal.

The Palestinian president will deliver a speech at the inaugural session of the Summit that will also include speeches for UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and African Summit President Robert Mugabe and South African President Jacob Zumba.

He will also hold a number of meetings with African leaders on the fringe of the summit proceedings.