Zambia has called on African ministers attending the on-going Copenhagen climate change summit in Denmark to remain united to achieve their goal, the Zambia Daily Mail reported on Wednesday.

Zambian Minister of Tourism, Environment and Natural Resources Catherine Namugala who is leading a Zambian delegation to the summit, said during a pan-African parliament ministerial briefing on the sidelines of the summit that Africa has come a long way in climate change negotiations and should remain united.

"I beg African ministers and delegates to hold together so that divide and rule should not prevail. Remember colonization, remember slavery. We have come a long way, so we have to get the good news. Our governments have spent a lot of money on this process," Namugala was quoted as saying by the paper.

Speaking at the same occasion, South African Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs Buyelwa Sonjica called on African delegations to the conference to speak with one voice, Daily Mail said.

"We don't want anyone to impose ideas on us. We must remain engaged. The bottom line is that developed countries must put money on the table and make bold emission reduction targets," Sonjica was quoted as saying by the paper.

At the 12th African Ministerial Conference on Environment in South Africa last year, African governments and civil society agreed on the importance of developing a common position for Africa climate change talks in Copenhagen, according to Daily Mail.

(Xinhua News Agency December 16, 2009)