Angolan President becomes chair of African Union for 2025

The 38th African Union (AU) Summit took place in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, bringing together heads of state and government from member countries, as well as representatives of international organisations.

The meeting addressed a range of regional and international issues, including socio-economic development, institutional reforms within the AU, and Africa’s growing role on the global stage. Additionally, a new Chairperson of the AU Commission was elected.

The position was awarded to Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, Djibouti’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, who succeeds Moussa Faki Mahamat of Chad, who had held the post for eight years.

During the high-level gathering, the chairmanship of the AU was formally handed over from Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani to Angolan President Joao Lourenco.

The event also featured an address by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who highlighted Africa as a region with an enterprising young population and vast potential in renewable resources. Guterres also emphasised the importance of the African Continental Free Trade Area as a key catalyst for economic development, according to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.

“We must keep working together to deliver the AU 2063 Agenda and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Key areas can drive progress – gender equality, clean energy, food systems transformation, and digitalisation”

Antonio Guterres United Nations Secretary-General

Among the summit attendees were South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, and Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, who reaffirmed Egypt’s commitment to cooperating within the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) – a framework for assessing and improving governance, political, and economic practices among AU member states. This was reported by Daily News Egypt, a partner of TV BRICS.

Meanwhile, Ethiopia proposed hosting the Second African Climate Summit at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa in 2025. Mesganu Arga, Ethiopia’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs, stated at the meeting of the Committee of African Heads of State and Government on Climate Change that the summit could serve as a crucial platform for shaping Africa’s climate negotiation strategy and developing necessary measures for sustainable development.

The African Union was established in 2002 and comprises 55 countries across the continent.

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