32ND AFRICAN UNION SUMMIT KICKS OFF IN ETHIOPIA

The 32ND African Union Summit for Heads of State and Government of all the 55 African countries is currently on-going in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 

The theme for the 32nd African Union summit is; “The Year of Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons: Towards Durable Solutions to Forced displacement in Africa”. During the opening ceremony, chairperson of the African Union Commission Mr. Moussa Faki Mahamat welcomed the assembly of leaders, specially welcoming the new leaders of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Madagascar.

He reported on the implementation of the institutional reform of the AU and activities of the union. Further remarking that, the relaunched Peace Fund now stands at $89 million dollars, with 50 Member States contributing. Following on from his address, President Paul Kagame (chairperson of the African Union) invited the special guests to give their address. The invited guests who addressed the 32nd AUSummit were Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebrey (Director-General of the World Health Organization), Dr. Bill Gates (Co-Chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation), Mr. Gianni Infantino (President of FIFA) and Mr. António Guterres (Secretary-General of the United Nations). These guests were invited because of the time, effort and money they have been committing towards ensuring the development of the continent.

A key towards achieving the objective of the African Union would be to make smart investments in human capacity building. – Dr. Bill Gates

Football is the only subject that unites Africa – Mr. Gianni Infantino

[VIDEO] Opening Ceremony – 32nd Ordinary Session of the Assembly

In another address, President Mamadou Issoufou of Niger reported on the status of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). So far, there have been recent ratification from Guinea-Bissau, Botswana, and Zambia. While speaking, He said that Africa is too vast, and we know more about our colonial masters than we know about ourselves. Further more, He concluded by encouraging more signatories to ratify the agreement. Which will see the launch of the operational phase of AfCFTA at the July 2019 summit . Read more about AfCFTA

[VIDEO] Press Conference on Status of the AfCFTA negotiations, signatures as well as ratifications

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