African Union: 44th Ordinary Session of the Executive Board, outline of the President-in-Office’s speech.
The situation in the Sahel and Senegal at the heart of the opening speech of DHOIHIR DHOULKAMAL, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, in charge of the Diaspora and Francophonie, and Current President of the Executive Council of the African Union, in prelude to the 37th summit of Heads of State and Government of this institution of the black continent.
At the opening of the 44th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council of the African Union, in prelude to the 37th Summit of Heads of State and Government of this great African institution scheduled to be held from 14 to 18 February 2024 in Addis Ababa, DHOIHIR Dhoulkamal, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, in charge of the Diaspora and the Francophonie, and President-in-Office of the Executive Council of the African Union, In his speech launching the work of this meeting, he takes stock of the situation prevailing on the black continent in recent years. ‘While terrorism and violent extremism continue to threaten the very survival of some of our states, an epidemic of unconstitutional change has shaken the continent over the past two years, testing the democratic progress seen so far in Africa.” said Dhoihir Dhoulkamal at the beginning of his speech.
After seeing deplored the damage of the cora virus pandemic on the contains, and the conflict situation in Senegal and the Sahel due to institutional and military coups in West Africa, Doihir Dhoulkamal also spoke about armed conflicts in central and northern Africa. “The multiplication of sources of tension, with the return of the old demons of war in Sudan, the persistence of insecurity in eastern Congo and the civil war in Libya, are all challenges that considerably slow down our collective momentum towards development.” say the President-in-Office of the Executive Board of the African Union.
It is with regret that Doihir Dhoulkamal, President-in-Office of the Council of the African Union rereads the picture of the fragilization of the integration process in Africa and especially in West Africa, with the key to the withdrawal of Mali, ECOWAS, one of the oldest organizations in the West African sub-region. “And as if that were not enough, now one of our most dynamic Regional Economic Communities, in this case ECOWAS, is facing the withdrawal of three of its Member States, thus weakening the process of economic integration of our Continent”.
Despite these security, political, climate change and war-related challenges in Ukraine, Dhoulkamal still has a glimmer of hope for Africa’s bright future. “We can, however, be proud of the substantial progress made in 2023,” said Doihir Dhoulkamal, adding:
“The voice of Africa has indeed resonated in the main international forums to defend the Continent’s superior interests. At COP 28, in the United Arab Emirates, we called for a more equitable energy transition and the financing of climate change measures, including financing for adaptation. Western countries, the world’s biggest polluters, must therefore increase funding for climate action and green growth for Africa.”
Finally, Doihir Dhoulkamal, President-in-Office of the Executive Board of the African Union, Recalled the specificities of the treatment of coastal and island States in particular for their extreme vulnerability to climate change as recommended by the Moroni Declaration, which endorsed the Ministerial Conference on the Blue Economy and climate change held in June 2023 in the Comoros, is, in this respect, an essential reference.
Ferdinand GADE
