By David Ochieng, Addis Ababa ETHIOPIA
The
heads of states and government representatives from Djibouti, Eritrea,
Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda are expected in the
Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Friday for the 13th Ordinary Session of the
Intergovernmental Authority on Development Assembly.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni departs for the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, for the 13th ordinary summit of the Inter-governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) |
The meeting will focus on the
body’s organisational structure and treaty as well ratification of the rotating
head of the regional body.
The last such ordinary session
was held in 2010 when then Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki handed over the
chairmanship to then Prime Minister of Ethiopia Meles Zenawi.
Since then, Ethiopia has
continuously held the chairmanship through its three successive Prime
Ministers, Zenawi, Hailemariam Desalegn and currently Abiy Ahmed.
“I am pleased to welcome IGAD
Heads of State & Government for the 13th Ordinary Session of the IGAD
Assembly. Our region is making good progress and with political will and
commitment, regional integration efforts for collective prosperity will
materialize in the spirit of MEDEMER!” Abiy said in a post on his official
twitter account.
Ugandan President Yoweri
Museveni and his counterpart from Djibouti, Ismaïl Omar Guelleh, already
arrived in Ethiopia while South Sudan’s Salva Kiir and Somalia’s Mohamed
Farmajo are expected to arrive having left their respective countries.
The 47th Ordinary IGAD Council
of Ministers got underway on Thursday.
During a session, the
organisation’s new Executive Secretary, Workeneh Gebeyehu, pledged to build on
his predecessor’s momentum and contribute to the revitalization of the
organization. Gebeyehu officially took over from Ambassador Mahboub Maalim
earlier in November.
IGAD
was created in 1996 to supersede the
Intergovernmental Authority on Drought and
Development(IGADD), which was founded in
1986. This followed the recurring and severe drought and other natural
disasters between 1974 and 1984 that caused widespread famine, ecological
degradation and economic hardship in the Eastern Africa region.
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