Tag Archives: AU Summit

News

Somalia Lobbies AU Summit for US$4.6b Int’l Debt Cancellation

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Somalia’s external debt at the end of December 2017 stands at $4.6 Billion. Largest stake is with Paris Club Creditors (54%), Non-Paris Club Creditors (13%) and Multilateral creditors (33%).

The African Union Commission and other international partners have urged external creditors to cancel Somalia’s $4.6 billion debt so as to allow the country to access financing to support its socio-economic advancement.

BY DINAH MATENGO | CGTN AFRICA

Somali government officials, international development partners and civil society organisations engaged in humanitarian operations in Somalia met at the African Union Summit to lobby African leaders to approve massive debt cancellation for war-ravaged Somalia. Continue reading Somalia Lobbies AU Summit for US$4.6b Int’l Debt Cancellation →

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Sudan, Egypt Leaders Agree to Form Ministerial Committee to Tackle Disputes

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Egypt and Sudan leaders agreed on forming a joint ministerial commission comprising the foreign ministers and intelligence heads of both countries to handle bilateral matters and issues facing the two countries.

BY SUDANESE MEDIA CENTER

Sudanese and Egyptian presidents Saturday agreed to form a joint ministerial committee to tackle the outstanding issues between the two countries, highlighting the bonds of brotherhood.

In a meeting held on the sidelines of the African Union summit in Addis Ababa, President Omer Al Bashir and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah Al Sisi discussed the recent tensions between the two countries. Continue reading Sudan, Egypt Leaders Agree to Form Ministerial Committee to Tackle Disputes →

News

Eritrea Urges AU to Press Ethiopia Withdraw From its Sovereign Territories

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As one of the guarantors of the Algiers Agreement, the AU is fully mandated to follow-up whether the EEBC’s “Final and Binding” decisions are respected and properly implemented. It is proper and correct for ‘dialogue’ to take place before an arbitration decision. But once the two parties agree to settle their disputes in a “Final and Binding” arbitration mechanism, the parties must implement the decision unequivocally. The call for “dialogue and bilateral talks” by the party that is dissatisfied with the arbitration decision must not be accepted and entertained.

By TesfaNews,

AN ERITREAN delegation called upon the African Union (AU) to urge Ethiopia to abide by its treaty obligations and unconditionally withdraw from sovereign Eritrean territory, including the town of Badme.

Ambassador Araya Desta, Eritrea’s permanent AU representative made the call during the consideration of the report of the Peace and Security Council and the State of Peace and Security in Africa at the 24th summit of the organization in Addis Ababa. Continue reading Eritrea Urges AU to Press Ethiopia Withdraw From its Sovereign Territories →

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Eritrean Delegation Participated in the 23rd African Union Summit

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Eritrean Delegation at the 23rd Session of the AU Summit, Malabo, Equatorial Guinea

By Eritrea Mission to AU and UNECA,

A DELEGATION led by Mr. Osman Saleh, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Eritrea, participated in the 23rd Summit of the African Union (AU) held in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, from 20-27 June 2014, under the theme “Year of Agriculture and Food Security.”

The Conference was conducted in three levels. The 28th Session of the Permanent Representatives Committee was convened from 20-22 June at the level of Ambassadors, followed by the 25th Session of the Executive Council held from 23-25 June at the level of Foreign Ministers, while the 23rd Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government took place on 26 and 27 June.  Continue reading Eritrean Delegation Participated in the 23rd African Union Summit →

Ethiopia, News

Jean Ping Lost AU Chairmanship to Dlamini-Zuma

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The incompetent and flamboyant ex-Commissioner of the African Union – Jean Ping – is now history. It is simply gratifying and indeed a good omen seeing him left office with his head down.  We are expecting leadership form the new and first women Chairman of the AU Commission, Ms. Dlamini Zuma.

Jean Ping and his lame duck leadership of the AU has ended with his defeat. Alas!

By Reuters,

Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma , South Africa’s minister of home affairs, was on Sunday elected as the first female head of the African Union Commission.

Ms Dlamini-Zuma, who received 37 votes in the last round of voting, needing 34 to win, defeated incumbent and rival Jean Ping of Gabon, who had headed the steering body of the 54-member organisation since 2008.

A failure by the AU to resolve the leadership contest between candidates from rival English- and French-speaking blocs at its summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, would have divided the continental body and undermined its credibility in the world.  Continue reading Jean Ping Lost AU Chairmanship to Dlamini-Zuma →

News

Ethiopia Rebel Group Protests over UN body’s AU Terror Plot Report

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The Monitoring Group has reached its unsubstantiated conclusion based on the claim of the Ethiopian regime without counterchecking with other sources: OLF

Sudan Tribune,

An Ethiopian rebel group, the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), wrote a protest letter to United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, denying any involvement in the alleged bomb plot at an African Union Summit held in Addis Ababa earlier this year.

A UN Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea (MGSE) report on July 28th accused the outlawed OLF of attempting to smuggle explosives into Addis Ababa to bomb the AU headquarters.

Ethiopian security forces said they foiled the attack and arrested suspects days before the planned attack. Continue reading Ethiopia Rebel Group Protests over UN body’s AU Terror Plot Report →

News, Opinions, Sophia Tesfamariam

ETHIOPIA: A Classic Case of the Accuser being the Culprit

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Today’s ‘Ally’ ... when his days of 'Servitude' no longer required

By Sophia Tesfamariam,

Eritreans have been watching the flurry of reports emanating from the Ethiopian capital and have been following the minority regime’s latest shameful and embarrassing pandering at the UN Security Council. It was indeed a spectacle, one that the western media has chosen to ignore, for obvious reasons, but a spectacle witnessed by many, including Security Council members which include the regime’s powerful handlers.

Why were the minority regime’s cadres in such a ditzy, and what were they peddling this time around? The minority regime’s ignominious cadres left no stone unturned in yet another futile and desperate attempt to convince Security Council members to take further punitive actions against Eritrea and its people. Continue reading ETHIOPIA: A Classic Case of the Accuser being the Culprit →

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Djibouti and Ethiopia asked UN Council to Target Eritrea With Sanctions on Mining

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There is no emergency that would justify a hasty, unfair and dangerous decision against Eritrea, for the second time in only 18 months

Bloomberg,

Eritrea, one of the world’s poorest nations whose citizens earn just over a $1 a day, may face tougher United Nations sanctions targeting the mining and remittances that keep its economy afloat.

Neighboring Ethiopia and Djibouti are urging the 15-member UN Security Council to impose sanctions on Eritrea’s mining and outlaw a 2 percent tax on remittances, according to a diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity. Ethiopia and Djibouti want one of the council’s three African members — Gabon, Nigeria or South Africa — to introduce the measure, the diplomat said. Continue reading Djibouti and Ethiopia asked UN Council to Target Eritrea With Sanctions on Mining →