{"id":4756,"date":"2026-02-15T03:44:21","date_gmt":"2026-02-15T03:44:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/home\/addis-ababa-african-leaders-debate-the-continents-future"},"modified":"2026-02-15T04:12:04","modified_gmt":"2026-02-15T04:12:04","slug":"addis-ababa-african-leaders-debate-the-continents-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/policy\/addis-ababa-african-leaders-debate-the-continents-future","title":{"rendered":"Addis Ababa: African Leaders Debate the Continent\u2019S Future"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press. <\/strong> <\/span>The 39th African summit in Ethiopia\u2019s capital, Addis Ababa, wrapped up its first day with broad participation from heads of state and government.<\/p>\n

Opening sessions on Saturday were dominated by warnings about expanding conflict hotspots and growing fragility in continental institutions, alongside key files led by the situation in Sudan, unrest across the Sahel, and issues of debt, water sovereignty, and the African free trade area.<\/p>\n

Warning over conflicts<\/b><\/p>\n

In his opening remarks, African Union Commission Chair Mahmoud Ali Youssouf addressed ongoing conflicts across the continent, saying: \u201cFrom Sudan to the Sahel, from eastern DR Congo to Somalia and elsewhere, our peoples continue to pay a heavy price for instability.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cWe struggle to silence the guns. Political and institutional fragility in several of our countries is worrying. And conflicts\u2014whether open or latent\u2014are becoming chronic.\u201d<\/p>\n

UN priorities<\/b><\/p>\n

UN Secretary-General Anto\u0301nio Guterres said Africa would remain the organization\u2019s \u201ctop priority,\u201d stressing the need for permanent representation for the continent on the UN Security Council.<\/p>\n

Speaking about conflicts on the ground, Guterres reaffirmed the UN\u2019s full commitment to pressing for an \u201cimmediate ceasefire\u201d in Sudan.<\/p>\n

He stressed the need to confront external actors supplying arms to both sides, noting the UN\u2019s engagement with the African Union, the Arab League, and a quadripartite mechanism to help build pressure for ending the war that has been ongoing since April 2023.<\/p>\n

The UN chief also touched on tensions in the Horn of Africa, voicing hope for reconciliation between Ethiopia and Eritrea to bolster stability\u2014especially after tensions that followed the Tigray conflict\u2014adding that the two neighboring countries share \u201ca long history of common struggle.\u201d<\/p>\n

A comprehensive security approach<\/b><\/p>\n

Egypt\u2019s foreign minister, Badr Abdelatty, called for a \u201ccomprehensive approach\u201d to strengthening security in Africa, addressing terrorism and foreign interference that undermines state sovereignty.<\/p>\n

Abdelatty reiterated Egypt\u2019s commitment\u2014while serving as chair of the AU Peace and Security Council for this month\u2014to support efforts to \u201csilence the guns\u201d by 2030 and to reach an inclusive political settlement that preserves Sudan\u2019s unity and territorial integrity.<\/p>\n

On the Palestinian issue, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa urged a decisive international response to Israeli settlement expansion to protect the two-state solution.<\/p>\n

Mustafa, who was invited to the summit, said Israel continues to violate the ceasefire agreement and threatens its second phase, stressing to African leaders that \u201cthe Gaza Strip is an inseparable part of the State of Palestine.\u201d<\/p>\n

For his part, the African Union Commission chair called for an end to the \u201cgenocide\u201d of Palestinians, saying their suffering requires a firm international stance.<\/p>\n

Earlier on Saturday, the AU\u2019s 39th summit opened in Addis Ababa in the presence of the UN secretary-general to discuss the continent\u2019s future and seek ways to halt internal conflicts.<\/p>\n

The summit agenda includes water security, sanitation, the free trade area, and debts weighing on the continent, as well as security turmoil in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa.<\/p>\n

Among the top priorities is the war in Sudan, as leaders seek to map out a path toward resolving the crisis.<\/p>\n

Find more news and analyses on Africa<\/span> on the Africa Press<\/span> website<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press. The 39th African summit in Ethiopia\u2019s capital, Addis Ababa, wrapped up its first day with broad participation from heads of state and government. Opening sessions on Saturday were dominated by warnings about expanding conflict hotspots and growing fragility in continental institutions, alongside key files led by the situation in Sudan, unrest across the Sahel, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":4755,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[120],"class_list":{"0":"post-4756","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-policy","8":"tag-africa"},"yoast_head":"\nAddis Ababa: African Leaders Debate the Continent\u2019S Future - Africa Press English<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"-article-header-tag"> Africa-Press. The 39th African summit in Ethiopia\u2019s cap ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/policy\/addis-ababa-african-leaders-debate-the-continents-future\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Addis Ababa: African Leaders Debate the Continent\u2019S Future\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"-article-header-tag"> Africa-Press. The 39th African summit in Ethiopia\u2019s cap ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/policy\/addis-ababa-african-leaders-debate-the-continents-future\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Africa Press English\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-15T03:44:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-15T04:12:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/africa-home\/sites\/69\/2026\/02\/sm_1771128650.154965.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1556\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1167\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/policy\/addis-ababa-african-leaders-debate-the-continents-future#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/policy\/addis-ababa-african-leaders-debate-the-continents-future\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Addis Ababa: African Leaders Debate the Continent\u2019S Future\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-15T03:44:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-15T04:12:04+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/policy\/addis-ababa-african-leaders-debate-the-continents-future\"},\"wordCount\":538,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/policy\/addis-ababa-african-leaders-debate-the-continents-future#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/africa-home\/sites\/69\/2026\/02\/sm_1771128650.154965.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/policy\/addis-ababa-african-leaders-debate-the-continents-future#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/policy\/addis-ababa-african-leaders-debate-the-continents-future\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/policy\/addis-ababa-african-leaders-debate-the-continents-future\",\"name\":\"Addis Ababa: African Leaders Debate the Continent\u2019S Future - Africa Press English\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/policy\/addis-ababa-african-leaders-debate-the-continents-future#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/policy\/addis-ababa-african-leaders-debate-the-continents-future#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/africa-home\/sites\/69\/2026\/02\/sm_1771128650.154965.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-15T03:44:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-15T04:12:04+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"description\":\"-article-header-tag\\\"> Africa-Press. The 39th African summit in Ethiopia\u2019s cap ...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/policy\/addis-ababa-african-leaders-debate-the-continents-future#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/policy\/addis-ababa-african-leaders-debate-the-continents-future\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/policy\/addis-ababa-african-leaders-debate-the-continents-future#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/africa-home\/sites\/69\/2026\/02\/sm_1771128650.154965.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/africa-home\/sites\/69\/2026\/02\/sm_1771128650.154965.jpg\",\"width\":1556,\"height\":1167,\"caption\":\"Addis Ababa: African Leaders Debate the Continent\u2019S Future\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/policy\/addis-ababa-african-leaders-debate-the-continents-future#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Addis Ababa: African Leaders Debate the Continent\u2019S Future\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Africa Press English\",\"description\":\"\u0623\u0648\u0644 \u0645\u0648\u0642\u0639 \u0625\u0641\u0631\u064a\u0642\u064a \u064a\u0643\u062a\u0628 \u0628\u0644\u063a\u0629 \u0628\u0644\u062f\u0627\u0646\u0647\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Addis Ababa: African Leaders Debate the Continent\u2019S Future - Africa Press English","description":"-article-header-tag\"> Africa-Press. The 39th African summit in Ethiopia\u2019s cap ...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/policy\/addis-ababa-african-leaders-debate-the-continents-future","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Addis Ababa: African Leaders Debate the Continent\u2019S Future","og_description":"-article-header-tag\"> Africa-Press. The 39th African summit in Ethiopia\u2019s cap ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/policy\/addis-ababa-african-leaders-debate-the-continents-future","og_site_name":"Africa Press English","article_published_time":"2026-02-15T03:44:21+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-02-15T04:12:04+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1556,"height":1167,"url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/africa-home\/sites\/69\/2026\/02\/sm_1771128650.154965.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/policy\/addis-ababa-african-leaders-debate-the-continents-future#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/policy\/addis-ababa-african-leaders-debate-the-continents-future"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"Addis Ababa: African Leaders Debate the Continent\u2019S Future","datePublished":"2026-02-15T03:44:21+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-15T04:12:04+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/policy\/addis-ababa-african-leaders-debate-the-continents-future"},"wordCount":538,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/policy\/addis-ababa-african-leaders-debate-the-continents-future#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/africa-home\/sites\/69\/2026\/02\/sm_1771128650.154965.jpg","keywords":["Africa"],"articleSection":["Policy"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/policy\/addis-ababa-african-leaders-debate-the-continents-future#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/policy\/addis-ababa-african-leaders-debate-the-continents-future","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/policy\/addis-ababa-african-leaders-debate-the-continents-future","name":"Addis Ababa: African Leaders Debate the Continent\u2019S Future - Africa Press English","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/policy\/addis-ababa-african-leaders-debate-the-continents-future#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/policy\/addis-ababa-african-leaders-debate-the-continents-future#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/africa-home\/sites\/69\/2026\/02\/sm_1771128650.154965.jpg","datePublished":"2026-02-15T03:44:21+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-15T04:12:04+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"description":"-article-header-tag\"> Africa-Press. The 39th African summit in Ethiopia\u2019s cap ...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/policy\/addis-ababa-african-leaders-debate-the-continents-future#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/policy\/addis-ababa-african-leaders-debate-the-continents-future"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/policy\/addis-ababa-african-leaders-debate-the-continents-future#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/africa-home\/sites\/69\/2026\/02\/sm_1771128650.154965.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/africa-home\/sites\/69\/2026\/02\/sm_1771128650.154965.jpg","width":1556,"height":1167,"caption":"Addis Ababa: African Leaders Debate the Continent\u2019S Future"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/policy\/addis-ababa-african-leaders-debate-the-continents-future#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Addis Ababa: African Leaders Debate the Continent\u2019S Future"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/","name":"Africa Press English","description":"\u0623\u0648\u0644 \u0645\u0648\u0642\u0639 \u0625\u0641\u0631\u064a\u0642\u064a \u064a\u0643\u062a\u0628 \u0628\u0644\u063a\u0629 \u0628\u0644\u062f\u0627\u0646\u0647","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4756","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4756"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4756\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4755"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4756"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4756"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4756"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}