Africa-Press – Angola. The Angolan head of state and acting president of the African Union (AU), João Lourenço, in Malabo advocated for greater integration of African countries to make Africa’s voice heard in an increasingly multipolar and competitive world.
“Regional integration in Africa is more than a political ideal” and includes “economic and social integration,” said João Lourenço in his opening speech at the AU’s VII Semiannual Coordination Meeting.
João Lourenço advocated for the “definition of roadmaps to strengthen integration,” because “Africa is once again called upon to unite to face existing challenges.”
“In an increasingly multinational and competitive context, in which large regional blocs are gaining weight in global decisions, Africa cannot continue to speak with scattered voices or negotiate with fragmented interests,” he said.
The AU President stressed that the need for unity to defend the continent’s interests must be demonstrated at the European Union-Africa Summit, through the African Union, scheduled for November 24 and 25 in Angola.
João Lourenço added that, next September, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, he intends to bring together African heads of state and government to analyze conflicts in Africa and to support peace as an “indispensable asset” for the continent.
Among the achievements of African integration, Lourenço highlighted the creation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which aims to create the largest single market for products and services in the world.
Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, Chairperson of the AU Commission (Secretariat), spoke in the same vein, stating that Africa is “at the center of a rapidly changing world.”
“The global South is positioning itself, and the BRICS (group of emerging economies) countries are increasingly asserting themselves as a coherent bloc. Europe is operating in a global context it no longer controls. Asia took off long ago. In this context, our continent must find its place with strength and determination, starting by accelerating integration,” Youssouf emphasized.
The Commission President stressed that integration requires the AfCFTA, “the single African market and, ultimately, the single African currency.”
The AfCFTA continues to be “the cornerstone of the expansion of intra-African trade” , so it is “essential to continue working to eliminate tariff and non-tariff barriers”, he stressed, admitting that this goal is still far from being achieved.
Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang, who hosted the meeting, stressed that “Africa has achieved political independence, but is still far from achieving economic independence.”
“If we can consolidate our internal economic integration, we will be able to negotiate and interact with the rest of the world from a position of greater strength, dignity, and advantage,” Obiang said, warning that in an increasingly globalized world, Africa “runs the risk of being left behind.”
The Equatorial Guinean leader, the longest-serving President (since 1979) — not considering monarchies — criticized international economic institutions that “impose harsh conditions and unjustified political criteria that restrict our countries’ access to credit.”
In addition to Lourenço and Obiang, other Presidents present at the conference include Abdelfattah al-Sisi (Egypt), Évariste Ndayishimiye (Burundi), Julius Maada Bio (Sierra Leone), Mohamed Ould Ghazouani (Mauritania), John Dramani Mahama (Ghana) and Emmerson Mnangagwa (Zimbabwe).
The AU Mid-Yearly Coordination Meeting, established in 2017, brings together a group of African leaders, including the presidents of regional organizations, to agree on actions to accelerate the implementation of Agenda 2063, the continent’s strategic framework for inclusive growth and sustainable development.
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