Panafrican News Agency

Cape Verde participates in AU 33rd summit of heads of state and government

Praia, Cape Verde (PANA)   -  The president of the Republic of Cape Verde, Jorge Carlos Fonseca, left here Saturday for Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to attend the 33rd summit of heads of state and government of the African Union (AU) scheduled for 9-10 February, official sources told PANA here.

Thirty-eight heads of state and government are expected to attend this forum which is under the theme "Silence Arms by 2020, Create Conditions Favorable to Development in Africa".

Among other issues essential to the African continent, the meeting will address peace and security on the continent, institutional reforms of the African Union, consolidation of the free trade area process in Africa and the report on the negotiations of the ACP countries (Africa, Caribbean, Pacific) with the European Union (EU), following the Cotonou agreement (Benin) which will expire next June.

The initiative "Silence arms in Africa by 2020" was launched in 2010 and adopted in 2013 by AU leaders as one of the flagship projects of the organization, which considers conflicts as one of the biggest obstacles to the achievement of its development programme for the continent.

 Progress in the implementation of the development agenda (Agenda 2063) will also be assessed, as well as the contributions of member-states to the organization's budget and digital transformation strategy, among other issues.

Preparations for the annual assembly of the African Union have been taking place at the organisation's headquarters in Addis Ababa since January 21.

Several technical preparatory meetings took place last Thursday and Friday, as well as a meeting of the Executive Council, which brings together the foreign ministers of member-countries.

The works will be concluded at the summit.

The secretary general of the United Nations, António Guterres, the director general of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom, the prime ministers of Canada, Justin Trudeau, and Norway, Erna Solberg, and the president of Palestine, Mahmud Abbas, are among guests at the summit.

On the sidelines of the summit, the Cape Verdean president, accompanied by Minister of Foreign Affairs and Communities and Defense Luis Filipe Tavares, has scheduled several meetings with his African counterparts to discuss issues of bilateral interest.

The summit will mark the passing of testimony between the outgoing president, Abdel Fattah Al-Sissi, Egyptian head of state, and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

 

-0-     PANA      CS/ DD/ CJB/IS/KND/RA   8Feb2020