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African Union Summit 32 Concluded in Addis Ababa

African Union Leaders at the 32nd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union, a two-day meeting held in Addid Ababa, Ethiopia.
African Union Leaders at the 32nd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union, a two-day meeting held in Addid Ababa, Ethiopia.
African Union Leaders at the 32nd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union, a two-day meeting held in Addid Ababa, Ethiopia.
African Union Leaders at the 32nd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union, a two-day meeting held in Addid Ababa, Ethiopia

The 32nd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union, a two-day meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, concluded on Monday, promising a peaceful, prosperous and integrated Africa

The 32nd African Union Heads of State and Government Summit concluded, on Monday, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. During the 2-day summit, African Union (AU) leaders focused on humanitarian issues with the official theme of 2019 as “The Year of Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons: Towards Durable Solution to Forced Displacement in Africa.”

With all 55 AU member countries marking their presence, the major responsibilities of the assembly are to determine the AU’s policies, establish its priorities, adopt its annual programme and monitor the implementation of previous policies and decisions.

Emphasising on the theme of 2019, the Chairperson of the AU Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, said, “This year’s theme as President of the Union is a humanitarian issue; internally displaced persons and discussions have focused not only on how to deal with this issue but also on how to address the root causes of such phenomena that cause regrettable situations.”

Mahamat also stressed on concerns over the expansion of terrorism in certain regions and said, “Of course, the issues of peace and security were also discussed, and then in addition to the report on peace and the Security Council, Libya, Sahel, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, the Chad Basin. It is therefore the issue of terrorism that has become a real threat on the continent, where the continent will benefit from the experience of Egypt in these areas.”

In a major leadership shift, the Rwandan President, Paul Kagame, after leading the AU reformist tenure as African Union Chair, passed the baton to Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Sisi officially took over the rotating post of ceremonial head of the AU at the start of a two-day summit in Addis Ababa.

Kagame tweeted, “It was an honor to serve the people and leaders of Africa as chair of our @_AfricanUnion. Thank you to the AUC team led by @AUC_MoussaFaki, you have my enduring respect.” While congratulating the Eygptian President and extended complete support, Kagame further tweeted, “I warmly congratulate our new Chair, my brother President Sisi of Egypt. You have my full support as you take our Union to greater heights.”

In an official press statement, AU disclosed that some of the major reports including the Outcome of the Leadership in Health Financing Funds, Status of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and report on progress of Africa’s Agenda 2063, were tabled during the summit. Further details of decisions taken during the summit are yet to be released officially.