EAST AFRICAN LEADERS HEADING TO ETHIOPIA FOR IGAD MEETING

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.