Africa-Press – Angola. The 35th Annual Ordinary Session of Heads of State and Governments of the African Union confirmed, Sunday (6th), the holding, at the end of May, of the Summit on Terrorism in Africa, proposed by Angola two years ago.
According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Téte António, the Malabo Summit will also discuss violent extremism and the issue of coups on the continent. The 35th Annual Ordinary Session of Heads of State, according to the minister, stressed the need for “pharmaceutical sovereignty” aimed at producing medicines for the continent.
The last day of the Summit was marked by a strong debate on the situation in Palestine. Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh called on Saturday for the withdrawal of observer status that the President of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki, granted to Israel last July.
Mohammad Shtayyeh justified that Israel does not deserve this status, due to the abuses it has committed against Palestine.
In this regard, the Minister of Foreign Affairs said that a Committee of Heads of State was created to analyze the matter and find a consensual solution. The Senegalese Head of State, Macky Sall, who assumed the rotating presidency of the organization, defined as priorities peace, security, inter-African trade, energy transition and good governance.
“It is not possible to develop integration without peace. We have made progress in integration, but there is still a long way to go”, he said. The 35th Annual Ordinary Session of Heads of State and Government took place under the theme “Building resilience in nutrition on the continent : accelerating human capital and social and economic development”. The Summit theme demonstrates the concern of African leaders with the worsening food situation on the continent.
The Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, António Francisco de Assis, said that the issues addressed, in relation to the matter, are in line with the Angolan Government’s programme. Speaking to the press in Addis Ababa, the minister said that these are actions aimed at food security, national production, empowerment of women and youth, with a view to improving the living conditions of the populations.
By the way, the executive secretary of the United Nations, Vera Songwe, described a dramatic picture of the food situation on the continent.
During the discussions at the meeting of the Executive Council of the African Union, Vera Son-gwe mentioned that African economies lose between 3% and 16% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) annually due to malnutrition.
Vera Songwe stressed that investment in nutrition has an economic basis. “Every dollar invested in reducing childhood stunting generates a return of about 16 dollars,” she said. The executive secretary recalled that malnutrition affects child development, the workforce and economies, calling attention to governments to reverse the situation.
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