Luanda – Angola´s Foreign Affairs minister, Téte António, on Wednesday in Luanda reaffirmed the importance of strengthening and consolidating the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which foresees the emergence of a robust and competitive market with more than 1.3 billion consumers, generating an aggregate Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of more than USD 3 million.
Speaking at the ceremony to formally present the Chairman of the African Union Commission (AUC) to members of the diplomatic corps accredited in Angola, the Angolan minister outlined the general program of Angola's presidency of the African Union (AU), from February 2025 to 2026.
According to Téte António, the theme chosen for this period was “Justice for Africans and Afro-descendants through compensation”, and the implementation of this theme by the continental organization will focus on “infrastructure and human capital, the main factors for Africa's integral development”.
He stressed that industrial development and the creation of value chains are essential to enable the aggregation of value through the transformation of raw materials into finished products.
The official also highlighted the focus on the impact of climate change, natural disasters and pandemics on the social and economic development of States and the threat it represents to sustainable peace on the continent as priorities for Angola.
"It is based on the importance of combating major pandemics such as outbreaks of Ebola, Marburg virus, monkeypox and cholera that the President of Angola, who is also the leader of the AU, João Lourenço, paid a visit to the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention on 14 March 2025", he emphasised.
According to the minister, peace, security and political stability will be one of the main focuses of the Angolan Presidency of the AU, given the impact of the spread of terrorism, religious extremism and radicalism, as well as the unconstitutional changes of democratically elected governments.
To this end, he believes it is necessary to work in permanent coordination and articulation with the AU Peace and Security Council (PSC) and in particular with the Commissioner for Political Affairs, in order to act in the prevention of conflicts on the continent, with a view to silencing the guns by 2030.
“During our Presidency, we must promote a conference to analyse conflicts in Africa, the main focus of which should be on the issue of peace as a continental public good, and we should do some tuning up in regard to the Conflict Prevention and Resolution Mechanisms”, he disclosed.
He stressed the need to accelerate the reform process of the African Union with greater representation and participation in multilateral organisations and the international system.
The top diplomat said that in this way, the reform of the United Nations Security Council will continue to be defended, reaffirming the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration, as well as capitalizing on the AU's participation in the G20 and strengthening strategic partnerships with International Cooperation Partners.
Minister Téte António also highlighted as an important task the promotion of the debate on a new international financial architecture and the financing of the African organization's operations, and to this end, a common position should be adopted in major forums, such as the "Fourth Conference on Financing for Development", which is to take place in Seville, Spain, in July 2025.
On the other hand, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, stressed that they are working to elevate the continent despite the challenges, adding that he will put all the energy, knowledge and resources possible into achieving the objectives for which they were elected.
He informed that he believes that African citizens are expecting the best results from the new Commission and promised that they will put the interests of the people at the centre of their efforts.
Mahamoud Ali Youssouf stated that regarding the situation in the East of the DRC, the Commission will support President João Lourenço in the stabilisation and peace process in that region.
He stressed that he will work with President João Lourenço in organising the Africa/United States forum, scheduled for June and another in October, both this year.
However, the session will also feature a presentation on the update of the African Union Development Agency Programme – New Partnership for Africa’s Development (AUDA-NEPAD), by the institution´s Executive Director, Ms Nardos Bekele-Thomas.
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