37th AU Summit opens in Addis Ababa today

Addis Ababa, February 17, 2024 (FBC) – The 37th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of African Union Heads of State and Government will kick off shortly at the AU Headquarters in Addis Ababa.

The opening session will feature opening speech by Azali Assoumani, President of the Union of Comoros and chair of AU, the  Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed (PhD), Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, and the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres.

The 37th AU Summit is scheduled to be held from 17 to 18 February 2024 in the Ethiopian capital.

Note that leaders and representatives of African countries have arrived in Addis Ababa to attend the Summit.

Besides to African heads of state and government, leaders from other parts of the world and heads of the UN and other international organizations entered Addis Ababa in the past few days to attend the 37th AU summit.

The FDRE Government Communication Service in a press briefing on Friday indicated that 49 countries have confirmed attendance to the summit, 30 represented by their presidents and five with vice presidents.

The summit will be a useful forum not only for discussing African matters but also in dealing with the global affairs as it has become a global diplomatic forum for leaders, representatives of countries and heads of international organizations.

Some six leaders outside of Africa are expected to attend this summit including about 13 leaders of international organizations.

The 37th AU’s Heads of State and Government summit will be convened between February 17 and 18 under the theme of “Educate an African fit for the 21st Century: Building resilient education systems for increased access to inclusive, lifelong, quality, and relevant learning in Africa.”

The summit is expected to discuss the status of peace and security on the continent, regional integration, and development.

The launch of the Second Ten-Year Implementation Plan of the AU’s Agenda 2063: “The Africa we want” will also be the highlight of the 37th AU summit.

Agenda 2063 serves as a fifty-year blueprint for Africa’s socio-economic development and integration, adopted by the AU member states after extensive consultations across the continent.