South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has arrived in Addis Ababa to join other African leaders in attending the 36th ordinary session of the African Union (AU) Assembly to be held in the Ethiopian capital over the weekend, the presidency announced on Friday.
Ramaphosa, who is current chairperson of the AU’s Peace and Security Council, was on Friday expected to chair a meeting to discuss the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) ahead of the ordinary summit that is due to run from 18-19 February.
“During the summit, President Ramaphosa and chair of the AU Peace and Security Council, will present the report on the State of Peace and Security on the African continent,” the presidency said.
The South African leader is also expected to present a report on the AU’s Response to Covid-19 in Africa to the AU assembly on Saturday. He currently serves as the AU Champion on Covid-19.
“The focus of the report will be on concrete actions undertaken to contain the spread of the pandemic on the continent,” his office said.
In addition, Ramaphosa is expected to deliver a progress report on the New Partnership for Africa’s Development infrastructure championing initiative.
Convened under the theme of “Acceleration of AfCFTA Implementation,” the summit is expected to take stock of the progress made so far in the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area which was launched on 1 January 2021.
NM/jn/APA