The 46th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council of the African Union (AU) kicked off Wednesday at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, with a call for united efforts to deal with Africa’s long standing challenges including underdevelopment and instability.
The two-day meeting, comprising foreign ministers from AU member states, is being held under the AU’S 2025 theme of the year: “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations.”
Addressing the executive council meeting, Chairperson of the AU Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat emphasised the importance of collective efforts to promote peace and security across the continent.
He highlighted the necessity of fostering good-governance, socio-economic development, sustainable financing and institutional reform of the AU. He also stressed the need to enhance Africa’s position and unity on the global stage.
“African positions on climate change are being strengthened. Agriculture and the blue economy are gradually taking their natural place in our strategic choices. The infrastructure and energy sector has made significant strides,” Faki said.
He emphasised that while these achievements are commendable, they should not overshadow the significant challenges and shortcomings that Africa still faces. He said ongoing violent conflicts remain a pressing issue across the continent, highlighting the urgent need to tackle security threats, particularly in Sudan and eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
“This situation is all the more worrying as at a time when multilateralism, already in bad shape for some time, seems to have to face new challenges and blows from across the Atlantic. We have to pull ourselves up, and we need to do it here and now,” Faki told African foreign ministers.
Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa Claver Gatete noted the crucial impetus to enhance Africa’s human capital, productivity and value-addition to spur continental development.
“Africa’s current global financial standing reveals the stark inequalities it faces. The continent possesses 30 percent of the world’s mineral reserves. It also contains as much as 65 percent of the world’s arable land. Yet, Africa accounts for less than 3 percent of global trade and only 1 percent of global manufacturing output,” he said.
The Executive Council meeting, among other things, is set to elect six commissioners for the AU Commission.
Additionally, it will review the draft agenda and decisions for the 38th ordinary session of the assembly of African heads of state and government, which is scheduled to take place on February 15-16.
MG/as/APA
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