Egypt's FM chairs 36th session of AU’s Executive Council in Ethiopia

CAIRO – 6 February 2020: Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry on Thursday chaired the 36th session of the Executive Council of the African Union in Addis Ababa, and reviewed the achievements made in Africa during Egypt’s presidency of the AU, the Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

This council meeting at the level of the foreign ministers will be followed by the 33rd summit of the heads of states on Sunday and Monday. The Executive Council is tasked with drafting the decisions and declarations that will be considered by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government, the AU said.

Giving an opening speech, Shoukry highlighted the achievements in joint African action at the political, economic and developmental levels, spokesman Ahmed Hafez said. The minister stressed the need for concerted efforts of African countries to address the issues and challenges facing the continent.

Shoukry also highlighted number of issues that is set to be discussed during the council meeting, including the issue of refugees, returnees and the internally displaced and the “Silencing the Guns” commitment that aims to achieve peace.

The foreign minister’s speech also referred to the ongoing efforts to achieve continental economic integration, especially the activating of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), Hafez added.



Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will attend the 33rd African Union Summit set to run until February 10th in Addis Ababa, the Egyptian ambassador said, during which Egypt will hand over the presidency of the AU to South Africa.

The summit comes under the 2020 theme of “Silencing the Guns: Creating Conducive Conditions For Africa’s Development,” a commitment that aims at achieving peace and security in Africa, in accordance with continent’s Agenda 2063.

Among the issues that is set to be discussed during the summit are sustainable funding of Africa’s development agenda specifically addressing the scale of assessment and contributions to the AU’s budget; progress made in the implementation of Agenda 2063; operationalization of the AfCFTA; African candidatures in the international system, the International Criminal Court, and Africa’s Digital Transformation Strategy, according to the AU’s official website.