Leaders of African Union member states convened in Addis Ababa yesterday for a two-day summit, deliberating on a range of issues including educational advancement, structural reforms of the bloc, regional integration, and economic cohesion, amidst political crises threatening to undermine development across the continent.
Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, expressed significant concerns during the opening of the African Union’s Executive Council meeting, attended by the foreign ministers of member states.
“The resurgence of military coups, pre- and post-election violence, and humanitarian crises induced by conflict or the effects of climate change are all sources of profound concern for us,” he stated.
Faki highlighted the escalating “endemic crises” in the Great Lakes region of Central Africa, exacerbated by conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
He emphasized, “Africa cannot remain idle and must act to foster genuine peace in the region,” noting that these issues “seriously threaten to undermine the progress indicators of Africa’s rise that we cherish.”
The African Union leaders are meeting in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, to discuss various matters, including education enhancement, restructuring of the bloc, regional integration, and economic integration.
According to the Ethiopian News Agency, 49 countries confirmed their attendance at the 37th Summit of African Union Heads of State and Government in Addis Ababa, with 30 countries represented by their heads of state, alongside international leaders and representatives from regional and international organizations, including United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, and other countries and partners.
Local media reports indicate that the leaders will focus on education during their summit under the theme “An Africa-fit Education for the 21st Century: Building Resilient Education Systems for Inclusive, Continuous, Quality, and Relevant Learning in Africa.”
The reports further mentioned that educational issues would take precedence on the leaders’ agenda, with the aim of uniting African nations under a plan to promote education on the continent by designing and implementing flexible, high-quality educational models to transform education in Africa.
The discussions will also cover issues such as reforming African bloc structures, regional integration, economic integration, and the announcement of the launch of the second ten-year plan for implementing the African Union’s Agenda 2063 (The Africa We Want).
The summit occurs amidst increasing challenges on the African Union leaders’ agenda, particularly concerning security situations, internal conflicts, rising violence, and terrorism in several East African countries, including Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as tensions between Somalia and Ethiopia.
West Africa also faces concerning security and political situations, especially in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, along with a political crisis in Senegal due to electoral disputes, opposition clashes, and challenges and crises related to terrorism, extremism, and climate change impacting the continent as a whole.