H.E Dr Omar Alieu Touray Leads the ECOWAS Delegation to the 46th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council of the African Union.

The 46th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council of the African Union, which will see the election of the new leaders and Commissioners of the Organization, started this Wednesday, February 12, 2025 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The ECOWAS delegation led by H.E Dr Omar Alieu TOURAY, President of the Commission and including Commissioner Abdel-Fatau MUSAH in charge of Political Affairs, Peace and Security and some ECOWAS experts, will also take part in parallel sessions on development, peace and security issues in Africa and in the meeting of the coordination platform of Regional Economic Communities across Africa.

The opening ceremony of this session, which saw the participation of Foreign Ministers of Member States, was marked by a series of speeches. Welcoming the participants, H.E Gedion TIMOTHEOS, the Ethiopian Minister of Foreign Affairs recalled the challenges currently facing the African continent. He focused on conflicts, security and health problems and the problem of reform of the United Nations Security Council.

Following him, H.E Dr Moussa FAKI, who is at the end of his mandate as the head of the African Union Commission, delivered a farewell message to the participants. After requesting a minute of silence in memory of former President Sam NUJOMA of the Republic of Namibia and one of the defenders of the African Union, he listed the great successes to the credit of the continental organization in the field of security, development and visibility of the institution. He did not fail to remind his successor that there are nevertheless emergencies to be taken care of, in particular the question of financing the African Union, security, partnership and solidarity.

For Mr. Claver GATETE, the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Africa is full of enormous potential but unfortunately conflicts, economic disparities and social injustices hinder the development of the continent. This is why he identified 5 key areas to take into account to meet development challenges. These include the reform of the financial architecture, the establishment of an African rating agency, the development of regional value chains, the involvement of the diaspora in development issues and finally the free movement of people and goods in Africa.

The working session was officially opened by H.E. Mohamed Salem Ould MERZOUGH, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, current President of the Executive Council of the African Union. After mentioning that he will soon hand over to his Angolan counterpart who will soon ensure Presidency of the Council, the Mauritanian Minister took stock of his mandate marked by a series of works and resolutions in the areas of peace, security and development in accordance with the recommendations of Agenda 2063 of the African Union. He ended his speech with these words: “Africa is only strong, and will only be strong, when it knows how to come together around the ideals outlined by the founding fathers, and to which we have the responsibility to give substance, year after year.”

Let us specify that this 46th Executive Council of the African Union will end on Thursday, February 13. It will be followed, from February 15 to 16, 2025, by the 38th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union.