32nd African Union Summit kicks off

CAIRO - 10 February 2019: The 32nd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union kicked off in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Sunday having as theme “The Year of Refugees, Returnees, and Internally Displaced Persons: Towards Durable Solutions to Forced Displacement in Africa.”


President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed at the headquarters of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. February 10, 2019. Press Photo

Earlier, a closed meeting of the African Union Assembly of Heads of State and Government took place whereas Rwandan President Paul Kagame presented his achievements while chairing the AU in 2018 in terms of institutional reform.

A tripartite summit between Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, Sudanese counterpart Omar al- Bashir and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed kicked off in Addis Ababa on Sunday to tackle the controversial Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

President Sisi will start his one-year term as chairperson of the AU in the summit’s opening session. Before the president officially receives the chairmanship from outgoing AU chairperson and Rwandan counterpart, speeches will be delivered by Chairperson of the African Union Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat; Chairperson of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Bill Gates; President of FIFA Gianni Infantino; Director General of the WHO Tedros Adhanom; Secretary General of the League of Arab States Mohamed Aboul Gheit; Secretary General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres; and, President of the State of Palestine and Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Mahmoud Abbas.

In the end of the session, the outgoing and incoming chairpersons of the African Union will respectively deliver their speeches.

What is on the agenda of Sisi's visit to Addis Ababa

CAIRO - 9 February 2019: President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi arrived in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Saturday to succeed his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame on Sunday in the chairmanship of the African Union Assembly of Heads of State and Government for one year.