Kenya to play host to high-powered delegation of more than 10 presidents
African Union Assembly of Heads of State and Government chairperson and President of the Union of Comoros Azali Assoumani make his remarks during the African private sector dialogue conference on the African Continental free trade area (AFCFTA) at Safari Park Hotel, Nairobi on May 29, 2023.
Kenya will host at least 10 heads of state and 51 foreign ministers from African Union (AU) member states in Nairobi on Sunday July 16 and Monday July 17.
As of Saturday evening, Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua said those who had already landed in Nairobi were Egypt's Abdel Fatah El-Sisi, Nigeria's Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Senegalese President Macky Sall, Comoros' Azil Assoumani, Gabon's Ali Bongo, Djibouti's Ismail Omar Guelleh and Libya's Presidential Council Chairman Mohamed al-Menfi.
Other heads of state expected in the country include Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Évariste Ndayishimiye of Burundi, President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana and Adama Barrow of The Gambia.
United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed is also in the country.
The dignitaries, accompanied by some 1,500 delegates, are in the capital for the fifth mid-year coordination meeting of the African Union, regional economic communities and regional mechanisms.
"The meeting will bring together the Heads of State and Government who make up the Bureau of the AU Assembly (Comoros, Botswana, Burundi and Senegal), the 8 Heads of State and Government who chair the 8 Regional Economic Communities (RECs) (Burundi - EAC, Djibouti - IGAD, Zambia - COMESA, DRC - SADC, Guinea Bissau - ECOWAS, Chad - CEN SAD, Libya - UMA and Gabon - ECCAS); the African Union Commission and Regional Mechanisms (RMs)," the State Department said in a statement on the event last month.
The summit, to be held at the United Nations Complex in Gigiri, follows the AU 2023 theme and will explore ways to enhance integration across the continent and boost trade.
Dr Mutua said the meeting would also discuss the AU's financial budget for 2024.
"There are so many concerns that remain at the heart of our political and diplomatic programme. . . The war in Sudan, the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the transition process in Mali and Burkina Faso and Guinea, the war in Russia and Ukraine, which is weighing heavily and negatively on Africa's agricultural production," Dhoihir Dhoulkamal, chairperson of the AU's executive council, was quoted as saying by AfricaNews.
