{Today in Addis Ababa, President Kagame joined heads of states and governments from across Africa for the opening ceremony of the 24th African Union Summit and First Lady Jeannette Kagame attended the annual meeting of the Organization of African First Ladies against AIDS. }
Speaking at the summit’s opening, African Union chairwoman, Dr. Dlamini Zuma listed infrastructure, energy, women’s empowerment and joint efforts for a peaceful continent as key components of the 2063 agenda:
“Africa has neither the time nor the choice, we must move in one direction and that is forward and upwards. Our generations of Africans, young and old, men and women, face the challenge to fulfill the mission we set ourselves. I dare say, we are the generations that will eradicate poverty, disease and hunger, as we set out to do in our Common African position on post-2015 development. We are the generation that shall manage diversity and silence the guns,” Dr. Dlamini Zuma said.
Following the opening, President Kagame attended the launch of the African Union Foundation as well as the launch of the Ebola fund.
On a panel including Yusuf Maji from African Against Ebola Solidarity Trust, Yvonne Chaka Chaka of the Princess of African Foundation and President John Dramini Mahama of Ghana, President Kagame emphasized the importance of going beyond resources:
“Countries will always have challenges, we have to think of how to overcome them. It’s not just about resources; it’s about how we apply them to our situation. To address our challenges, we have to make the right investments. We need to invest in country systems,”
Alongside the launch of the fund to address the Ebola epidemic, today’s summit marked the beginning of the African Union Foundation; the body charged with finding alternative sources of funding to ensure the majority of AU’s funding comes from within member states.
The summit discussed peace and security and the continent with United Nations Secretary General reiterating the UN’s call for action against FDLR:
“Attaining peace and security in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Great Lakes Region requires joint decisive action, including neutralizing the Forces Democratiques du Congo- the FDLR- and other armed groups. The signatories of the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework agreement must fully abide by their commitments.”
This year’s annual summit saw the election of President Mugabe as the new African Union chairman.
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