ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia
The United States is sending a strong delegation of special envoys to Addis Ababa this week for the annual African Union Summit in the Ethiopian capital, as it seeks role in the continent’s matters.
The Department of State
announced on Tuesday that the delegation will “meet with stakeholders to
discuss the global food security crisis and its disproportionate impact on
Africa, as well as to follow up on US commitments made at the US-Africa
Leaders’ Summit”.
The US gathered African
leaders in December last year in Washington for a summit that sought to improve
partnerships.
The Delegation is led by Molly
Phee, the US assistant secretary for Africa, and former US ambassador to Kenya
Johnnie Carson, now the Special Presidential Representative for US-Africa
Leaders’ Summit Implementation. Others include US Special Envoy for Global Food
Security Cary Fowler, USAid Assistant Administrator in the Bureau for Africa
Monde Muyangwa, acting USAid Assistant to the Administrator for the Bureau of
Resilience and Food Security Dina Esposito, and US Global Aids Coordinator and
Special Representative for Health Diplomacy John Nkengasong. Dr Nkengasong was
until last year the director for the Africa Union Centres for Disease Control
and Prevention (Africa-CDC), the AU’s public health agency.
“The US delegation will
reinforce US commitment to advance food security and highlight the ongoing work
through the US government’s Feed the Future initiative, and efforts to scale up
work on climate-resilient agriculture and soil health, including upcoming work
on the “Vision for Adapted Crops and Soils” (VACS),” a statement said.
Heads of state and government
of AU member states are gathering in Addis Ababa as the continental body marks
20 years since it was re-formed from the old Organisation of African Unity
(OAU). According to the programme, leaders will be meeting under the theme ‘The
Year of AfCFTA: Acceleration of the African Continental Free Trade Area
Implementation’.
But the Assembly of Heads of
State and Government will also look into continual problems “and make
far-reaching decisions on various political and socio-economic areas to promote
and advance the welfare and quality of life for the African citizenry”,
according to the programme.
Some of the issues will fall
under the institutional reforms of the African Union, peace and security and
the missed deadline to silence guns, global financial and energy issues and the
food crisis, response to Covid-19, climate change and Agenda 2063.
No comments:
Post a Comment