Addis Ababa - Angola's ambassador to Ethiopia and Permanent Representative to the African Union (AU), Miguel Bembe reiterated the country's willingness to collaborate in the organisation's reform process, with the aim of responding to different problems.
The diplomat made these remarks on Monday in Addis Ababa during an audience with the Chairman of the Commission of the African Union (AU) Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, according to a note from the diplomatic representation to which ANGOP had access.
The document adds that, during the hearing, the diplomat delivered a message from the Angolan Head of State, João Lourenço, in which he invites Moussa Faki Mahamat to participate in the 3rd Edition of the Pan-African Forum for the Culture of Peace – Luanda Biennial, to be held from the 22nd to the 24th of November, with the theme “Education, Culture of Peace and African Citizenship as Tools for the Sustainable Development of the Continent”.
In turn, the ambassador reported on the decision by the Southern African region to nominate Angola as a member of its Peace and Security Council for the 2024-2025 biennium and as acting chair of the AU in 2025 (the year in which the country will celebrate the 50th anniversary of its independence).
Miguel Bembe and Moussa Faki Mahamat also discussed the forthcoming visit to Ethiopia by Angola's Minister of State for Social Affairs, Dalva Ringote, to take part in the ordinary meeting of the Luanda Biennale Steering Committee, to be held on Friday (13), which will be preceded by another technical meeting on Thursday (12).
During the meeting, Ambassador Miguel Bembe recalled that the Luanda Biennale is the result of Decision 558/XXIV, adopted by the 24th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the AU in January 2015, which recommended that appropriate measures be taken for the joint organization between the African Union, the UNESCO and the Government of the Republic of Angola.
Since its first edition, held in September 2019, Luanda Biennial has established itself as a benchmark on the African continent for the promotion and dissemination of good practices on conflict prevention and resolution, through interactive sessions that bring together politicians, experts, academics and representatives of civil society.
The Luanda Biennial has also become a privileged space and an excellent opportunity to build bridges between young people and leaders, sharing, on the one hand, the strategic vision of public policies and, on the other, the experiences and perspectives of young people as actors in promoting a culture of peace and social transformation on the continent Intergenerational Dialogue.
The President of the Republic, João Lourenço, considers that "youth must be the starting and finishing point of any pedagogy undertaken to appease the minds most prone to conflict and violence".
So, Luanda’s Biennial is a great opportunity to strengthen the promotion of a culture of peace in Africa.
SC/DAN/DOJ
