Ethiopia successfully concluded hosting the AU ordinary sessions

Addis Ababa, the capital of Africa and the seat of the Africa Union has successfully concluded hosting the annual ordinary sessions of the African Union held from February 02-03, 2022 convening the 40^th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council (Ministerial Session) and the 35th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of States and Governments held from 05-06 February 2022. This year’s ordinary sessions were held physically for the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020.

The 40^th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council was attended by foreign ministers of member states and representatives of international institutions under the theme, ‘Building resilience in nutrition on the African continent: Accelerate the human capital, social and economic development.

The Executive Council session is preceding to the Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of States and Governments deliberating on issues of the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the increasing threats of insecurity from conflicts and terrorism, the unconstitutional changes of governments in African states, and the socio-economic development of the continent.

               The Africa Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat delivered an opening speech at the session and spoke about the efforts of the Commission in combating the Coronavirus pandemic that requires 454 billion dollars to put the affected economy back on track. In this respect, he spoke of the vaccination strategy Africa has crafted to vaccinate at least 60% of its population and speed up the process for the full operationalization of the Africa CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention).

United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa, Vera Songwe, has also delivered a speech where she stressed the need to build resilience to tackle manmade and natural challenges that Africa is facing today and called on member states to work on employment opportunities for vulnerable groups whose livelihoods are devastated by the pandemic. Recalling the recent sale of 11,200 bags of Ethiopian coffee in just 2 seconds in an online Chinese market-Alibaba, she emphasized that African countries should strive to utilize cyberspace to benefit people working in small and medium level Enterprises.

Following the ordinary session of the Executive Council, the 35th meeting of the AU Assembly followed considering reports of the Executive Council and different reports under its agenda.  Mr. Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the AUC, gave a broad overview of the state of the Union, touching on issues related to peace and security, governance, and health amongst others as well as the actions taken by the AU and its member states to address the regional issue.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed, the Secretary-General of the United Nations Mr. Antonio Guterres, and Prime Minister of the State of Palestine Mr. Mohammad Shtayyeh, have also addressed the assembly.

The Ethiopian Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed, whose country hosts the AU Headquarters, welcomed the Heads of States and Governments and expressed his appreciation to the entire leadership of the Union for the collective response to the challenges of the pandemic.

PM Abiy Ahmed expressed the need for a politically united continent that aspires to fulfill the ideals of Pan Africanism and the vision of an African Renaissance. Stressing on global health crisis, climate change, and Agenda 2063, he stresses the need for sustainable, collective development.

PM Abiy Ahmed also raised the importance of Africa’s representation on international platforms such as the United Nations saying “Africa remained a junior partner without meaningful input or role in the system of international governance”, he called for reform of the UN to reflect current global realities with equitable representation. He also raised the concrete issues about media, to provide authoritative news and fight disinformation noting “Africa is often portrayed in the international media negatively. The endless representation as a continent troubled by civil wars, hunger, corruption, greed, disease, and poverty is demeaning and dehumanizing and likely driven by a calculated strategy and agenda. Telling our own stories and sharing our own narratives must be our top priority.” Noting this, PM Abiy proposed the establishment of an African Union Continental Media House that could provide authoritative news and information on Africa, fight disinformation, promote collective agenda and offer opportunities for Pan African voices to be heard.

Following the two days, 40^th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council and the 35^th Ordinary Session of the Heads of State and Government this year’s African Union Summit was successfully concluded outlining African priorities for 2022 in its Headquarter Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Source: Mahlet Tesfaye, Diplomat Embassy of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, New Delhi