Johannesburg - International Relations Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane will meet her counterparts on Thursday to discuss the leadership of the African Union (AU), her department said.

Nkoana-Mashabane will travel to Mozambique to attend a meeting of the Southern African Development Community's political and diplomatic committee to discuss their nomination of Malawi for chairmanship of the AU summit.

The meeting is a follow-up to September's gathering in Kinshasa where Malawi's candidacy was first proposed.

The foreign ministers will also be briefed on Zimbabwe by South African representatives and on the political situation in Madagascar.

By SAPA