Africa-Press – Cape verde. José Maria Neves participated in the 37th Summit of the African Union where he defended the reform of the institution and announced support for Angola’s candidacy for the presidency of the AU.
In Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia and headquarters of the African Union (AU), the President of the Republic defended the reform of this pan-African institution.
At the meeting that began on Saturday, José Maria Neves called for a redistribution of work and the establishment of a multi-level governance system in Africa, with well-defined responsibilities, at the level of the African Union, at the level of sub-regional organizations and States to avoid overlapping and different interpretations regarding existing problems.
“Of course, all this must be done in close coordination with States, sub-regional organizations and the African Union”, he reinforced, stressing that security issues must be left to the African Union and sub-regional organizations must take care of economic integration.
The President of the Republic also highlighted that in the case of the political crisis in Senegal, the African Union must monitor the situation and considered that Africa’s participation in the G20, of which it is already a member, requires “profound organizational adaptation”.
In the case of Angola’s candidacy for the rotating presidency of the African Union in 2025, Cape Verde’s support was confirmed.
“We support and see with good eyes, Angola is a great power in Africa and has a positive experience in the search for peace, being able to make an important contribution to the pacification process in Africa”, said José Maria Neves in an interview with Radio France Internacional (RFI ).
Regarding the existing conflicts on the continent, the President of the Republic argued that efforts should be made to strategically revalue ECOWAS, pointing out that perhaps this could happen with the reform of the African Union.
Support for the Angolan candidacy and meeting with Kenyan counterpart
During the summit, the Head of State announced that Cape Verde will support Angola’s candidacy for the rotating presidency of the pan-African organization, in 2025.
José Maria Neves, speaking to RFI, said that he sees this candidacy with “favorable eyes”, highlighting that Angola can contribute to the process of pacification of the African continent.
“Particularly in the Great Lakes where Angola is playing an important role”, he detailed.
The head of state highlights that “Angola is in a process of modernizing its economy and society and could be a very positive reference on the African continent”.
Also during the summit, José Maria Neves had a meeting with William Ruto, his Kenyan counterpart to whom he invited, as well as the president of Equatorial Guinea, to become co-champion for the Preservation of Africa’s Natural and Cultural Heritage , representing East Africa. An invitation that was “readily accepted”, as José Maria Neves wrote on his Facebook page.
José Maria Neves said that he had spoken with President William Ruto, who was appointed, on Saturday, Champion for the institutional reform of the African Union, succeeding President Paul Kagame, of Rwanda, on the reform of the governance system in Africa, indicating that the his Kenyan counterpart highlighted his desire to share with him “views and experiences on this important dossier”.
“We also agreed to exchange state visits, on dates to be determined, to reinforce friendly and cooperative relations between our two countries”, concluded the head of state.
Continental and global conflicts
At this summit of heads of state and government of the African Union, which ended on Sunday, more than thirty leaders discussed the crises facing the continent, shaken by coups d’état, unconstitutional changes and also global conflicts.
According to RFI, the departure of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger from ECOWAS, the political crisis in Senegal and the lack of funds for the African Union’s Peace and Security system marked the agenda of African leaders.
In addition to regional problems, global conflicts were also debated during the 37th summit of the pan-African organization.
The President of the AU Commission, in the opening speech of the 44th session of the AU Executive Council, recalled that the African Union, since the beginning of the conflict in the Middle East, advocated the end of hostilities, the release of hostages and prisoners and the solution of two states. The African Union refused Israel’s request to attend this summit as an observer state.
According to RFI, the implications of the war in Ukraine and the attacks in the Red Sea, the conflicts in Sudan, the jihadist threat in Somalia, the divided Libya, the exposure of the Sahel to terrorism and the tension in the DRC were also on the agenda of the debates. .
The same source indicated that the entry of the African Union into the G2O and the presence of the Brazilian President, Lula da Silva, guest of honor at this summit and who currently presides over the G20, will give heads of state space to define African policy in this organization.
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