Luanda - The new Special Representative of the President of the African Union Commission (AUC) and Head of the AU Mission for Central and Eastern Africa (MISAC), Angolan António Egídio de Sousa Santos, presented his Letters of Credentials to the President of the Central Republic -Africana (RCA), Faustin Archange Toudera.
The information is contained in a press release from the Permanent Representation of Angola to the African Union (AU), in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) to which ANGOP had access.
At the solemn ceremony, which took place on Friday, in Bangui, Ambassador António Egídio de Sousa Santos expressed his gratitude for his appointment by the president of the AUC, Moussa Faki Mahamat, and reaffirmed the AU's solidarity with the people and the CAR Government “in its legitimate aspiration for peace, security, stability and development in its country”.
He also reiterated “the unwavering commitment of the AU, in its capacity as guarantor of the Political Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation (APPR-RCA), to continue monitoring its efforts to stabilize the country, as well as respecting the sovereignty, unity and the territorial integrity of the CAR”.
In line with MISAC's mandate, António Egídio de Sousa Santos committed to working closely with authorities, national stakeholders, including civil society, as well as regional and international partners, in the face of the “complex challenges facing the country faces.”
In this regard, he recalled the AU's commitment to the CAR and encouraged all stakeholders to work together towards consolidating peace, reconciliation and sustainable development.
The Angolan diplomat was appointed on 7 November 2023 and on 12 March 2024 received, in an audience, in Addis Ababa, by Moussa Faki Mahamat, in the presence of the Permanent Representative of Angola to the AU and UNECA, Miguel César Bembe, who He is also the country's Ambassador to Ethiopia.
Retired Army General, he was Chief of the General Staff of the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA), from April 2018 to January 2023. Between 2004 and 2011, already appointed ambassador, António Egídio de Sousa Santos was deputy secretary general of the Community Economic Analysis of Central African States (CEEAC).
Professor at the Agostinho Neto University (UAN), in Angola, he has a post-doctorate in History and Civilizations from the École de Hautes Études et Sciences Sociales (EHESS) in Paris.
He is a graduate of the Higher Political-Military School of Lvov-Ukraine, in the former USSR (1980 to 1985) and the Higher Institute of Military Education -ISEM-, Luanda in Command and Leadership (2006).
In addition to Portuguese, he speaks fluently Portuguese, French, Russian, Kimbudu and Kikongo. ADR/DOJ
