President Hage Geingob has delegated Vice-President Nangolo Mbumba to represent him at the 33rd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union, which starts this weekend in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Both the Presidency and the ministry of international relations confirmed that Mbumba would lead the Namibian delegation to the annual gathering.
Earlier this week Geingob announced that he would not undertake international trips at least until June this year.
The summit will be held under the theme: “Silencing the Guns: Creating Conducive Conditions for Africa’s Development.”
Focus will be on the reform of the AU institutions, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), questions concerning peace and security in Africa, as well as the election of the new president of the African Union for 2020.
At the summit, Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi will hand over the African Union chairmanship to his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa.
According to a statement issued by Namibia’s Permanent Representative to the AU Emilia Mkusa, the theme for this year presents an opportunity to reflect on the continental peace and security agenda, by highlighting the urgent need to address the root causes of conflicts on the continent and focusing on combating the illicit flow of small arms and light weapons as part of the implementation of the theme for the year 2020.
“The summit is also expected to discuss, amongst other topics, the report on the Implementation of the AU Theme of the Year 2019 on Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons; the outcome of the regional consultations on the financing of the AU Peace Fund; and the report on the progress on the operationalization of the African Continental Free Trade Area and its Secretariat,” she said.
“The African Peer-Review Forum of Heads of State and Government will also meet on the margins of the 33rd AU Assembly.”
According to Mukasa, the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) report on Namibia, which includes unemployment challenges in the country, will also be shared with member states.
“The report contains the best practices Namibia has, as well as the challenges experienced in addressing youth unemployment. Namibia strives to leverage the learnings from other member states and these will considered by the Namibian government to ensure the attainment of national developmental priorities which can support the mainstreaming of youth into all areas of governance and socio-economic development.”
- ktjitemisa@nepc.com.na