(Addis Ababa) African heads of state are gathering this weekend in Addis Ababa for an African Union (AU) summit to discuss deadly violence in the Sahel and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and attempt to accelerate the establishment of the continental free trade area.
Institutional reform and food crises, as the continent faces a historic drought in the Horn of Africa, are also high on the agenda.
For many years, the continent’s leaders have been discussing the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (Zlec), which is to unite 1.3 billion people and become the world’s largest market in terms of population.
This 36e AU summit, which brings together 55 countries and will be held at the headquarters of the continental organization in Addis Ababa, will focus on the “acceleration” of Zlec, intended to promote trade within the continent and attract investors.
For now, intra-African trade represents only 15% of the continent’s total trade.
According to the World Bank, by 2035, the agreement would create 18 million additional jobs and “could help lift up to 50 million people out of extreme poverty”. Its combined GDP stands at $3.4 trillion, according to the UN.
But differences remain on the continent.
All AU countries, with the exception of Eritrea, have joined, but discussions are stumbling over the timetable for tariff reductions, particularly for the least developed countries.
heated debates
Rwandan President Paul Kagame will also present a report on the reform of AU institutions. For many years, Mr. Kagame has been advocating for a series of profound changes, notably in favor of the financial independence of an institution that operates mainly thanks to foreign donors.
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, present at the summit, will make a statement to the assembly. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will also speak, but virtually, to the continent’s heads of state.
In 2022, the debates within the organization had been heated, in particular on the controversial accreditation of Israel. Discussions had to be postponed.
Ahead of the summit, exchanges took place on the situation in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), plagued by armed groups, in particular in the presence of the Congolese head of state Félix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart. Paul Kagame.
During the meeting, heads of state from the East African Community (EAC), made up of seven countries, called for a “withdrawal of all armed groups” by March 30.
The DRC accuses its neighbor Rwanda of supporting these rebels, which is corroborated by experts from the UN, the United States and other Western countries, although Kigali denies it.
Azali Assoumani, president of the Comoros, a small archipelago in the Indian Ocean of about 850,000 inhabitants, will take over the rotating presidency of the AU, following Macky Sall, the Senegalese head of state.
The Comorian president “will need the support of other African leaders to assume his mandate, given the country’s limited diplomatic weight”, notes the NGO International Crisis Group (ICG).
Suspension
Before handing over, the Senegalese Head of State will present a report on the food crises on a continent hard hit by the consequences – in particular the soaring prices – of the war in Ukraine.
Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea, three countries ruled by military coup d’états, on February 10 requested the lifting of their suspension from the AU. The three countries sent delegations to Addis Ababa to plead for the lifting of their suspension.
On Friday, Moussa Faki Mahamat, chairman of the AU Commission, told AFP that the institution’s “peace and security” council would meet, on an unspecified date, to decide on a possible lifting of the ban. the suspension of these three countries.
At least 35 presidents and four prime ministers will attend the summit, according to the Ethiopian government. The AU brings together 55 states.