On Tuesday, 27th of June, all representatives from the fifty five African countries converged for the opening session of the 29th AU Summit, at the African Union Headquarters, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The summit which was reported according to a press release published on APO, confirmed that, “The opening ceremony took place in the presence of the Chairperson of the AU Commission, Deputy Chairperson, AUC Commissioners, all the Ambassadors of the 55 African Union member states based in Addis Ababa, representatives from the diplomatic corps, the international community, civil society, private sector and invited guests among others.”
Speaking at the event, H. E. Mr. Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the AU Commission, hammered on the relations that must exist between the PRC and the new Commission. He noted that, “Dealing with emergencies, and trying to identify the strategic lines of our action, we have acquired a serious awareness of the need to change certain crucial aspects of the Commission’s working methods. The result is the necessity of addressing the relations between our two organs.
“We have a lot to achieve with limited means. Our success depends on the coherence of our actions and our commitments, whatever the level of our responsibilities”.
According to the press release, the “Chairperson highlighted the main issues to be considered during the PRC meeting, which include: Reform of the African Union, for which the follow-up of the implementation, in accordance with the July 2016 and January 2017 summit decisions, has been jointly entrusted to the Presidents Paul Kagame of Rwanda, Idriss Deby Itno of Chad and Alpha Conde of Guinea. This is in addition to migration, peace and security, and implementation of the decision of the 0.2% levy on imports of eligible products in order to ensure in predictable, sustainable and equitable financing of the AU.”
So, for three days, the release disclosed that, “the 34th Session of the PRC will consider the reports of the various activities of their sub-committees, reports of the AU organs and their activities. The PRC will further exchange views on the draft agenda, as well as the draft Decisions and Declarations of the 31st Ordinary Session of the Executive Council, and those of the 29th AU Assembly, before adopting its report.”
Correspondent: Olayiwola A. Ridwan
