BY EYUEL KIFLU
Preparation has been finalized to host the upcoming AU summit in Addis Ababa. The Summit which is expected to deliberate on pressing continental issues will kick off later this week with Ethiopia rolling out the carpet to warmly welcome African nations’ heads of state. The AU Ministerial sessions and the Assembly are scheduled to take place from February 15-19 in Addis Ababa.
The 36th Ordinary Session of the African Union (AU) Heads of State and Government themed ‘Acceleration of African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Implementation’ serves as a great opportunity for Ethiopia to prove to the world that it is capable of hosting great events peacefully.
With the hospitality industry expressing its readiness to give guests decent services, the country is well-positioned to make the Summit a success. Arrangements have been done in terms of health, security, telecom, firefighting, and emergency services.
The Summit came following Ethiopia’s groundbreaking Pretoria peace deal which ended the country’s two years of conflict. The Summit is expected to see high turnout due to peace agreement reached between the government of Ethiopia and TPLF in South Africa.
The deal was brokered by the continental bloc and saw an effective implementation on the ground. This sets an exemplary lesson for a continent that is beset by civil war, violence, and other man-made menaces. The agreement also proved that African institutions are capable of resolving their internal matters. The peace deal also successfully silenced the gun in the northern part of the country sending a clear message to the rest of the world that Africans can settle their conflict through peaceful means.
The Summit will have great diplomatic, political, and economic benefits to Ethiopia as it is held at a time when the country is emerging from a challenging situation, she added. Every service is prepared, such; as hotel, security, telecom, and financial services, which are ready to provide excellent service. The preparation also shows that the country’s security is stable and there are no problems for the delegation members, said Ambassador Birtukan Ayano, State Minister of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) and member of the preparation committee in her discussion with stakeholders.
In fact, Ethiopia was a victim of a misinformation campaign and there were minor security issues that might have cast the African Union Summit. Different countries have had travel alerts issued on Ethiopia, but now that’s history and the country is now very safe. The recent visits of Chinese, German, and French foreign ministers show that the country is back to normalcy and stable condition.
Pretoria peace accord is expected to be presented as an experience at the summit. It also shows how the country solved its problem by African means. Amb. Bankole Adeoye, commissioner for political affairs, peace, and Security of the AU Commission, in his meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Ethiopia Demeke Mekonnen lately, said the peace deal sets a good example for the other AU member countries the commissioner said. It will be presented as an example in the upcoming summit, he remarked
Meanwhile, in his press briefing, Ethiopia’s Permanent Representative to the African Union, Ayele Lire said the summit is majorly focused on the current status of Agenda 2063. Also, it will focus on trade and economic issues. Indeed, the Ethiopia peace accord is an achievement of agendas because silencing guns is one of the agenda issues. So, this makes Ethiopians and Africans proud of themselves. It shows that the AU is working well, and the deal has built every African’s trust in their continental union.
In another good move, recently, African Union Commission officially launched the Network of African Think Tanks for Peace. African Union Political Affairs Peace and Security (AU PAPS), in its social media posts, disclosed that the initiative is intended to drive the partnership between the African research community and the African Union Political Affairs Peace and Security on governance, peace, and security.
AU PAPS added that the official launch of the African Union Network of Think Tanks for Peace Network (NeTT4Peace) follows the two-day technical session of its strategy group that was convened with GIZ sponsorship.
In his welcoming remarks on the launching event Bankole Adeoye, African Union Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, explained the rationale behind the initiative to create a structured and focused interface between AU PAPS and African think tanks, local media reported The Commissioner also mentioned that collaborative effort is needed to achieve African solutions to African problems It is stated on the occasion that Ambassador Ahmed Abdel-latif, Director General of Cairo Peace Keep and Co-chair of the strategy group, presented the initial structure and operational guidelines of the Network of African Think Tanks for Peace (NeTT4Peace) Network.
African countries should institute wide-ranging fiscal reforms to expedite sustainable recovery from multiple crises which have hindered industrialization and economic diversification, the Economic Commission for Africa’s (ECA) Acting Executive Secretary, Antonio Pedro, has urged.
“Ensuring a sustainable recovery, which protects populations and economies from the shocks of future pandemics and other crises, will require a range of reforms and initiatives at both the national and international levels,” said Mr. Pedro in his remarks at the 2023 Coordination Segment of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) on 2 February in New York City.
“For African countries, appropriate policy choices through fiscal reforms as well as building coherent and effective frameworks for mobilizing domestic revenue are needed,” Pedro said, calling for a reprioritization of public expenditure to invest in more growth-enhancing projects.
“At the current pace, we are starting to see a reversal of much of the progress made towards achieving Agenda 2030 and Agenda 2063,” Pedro noted. Currently, nine African countries are in debt distress and an additional 13 are at high risk of falling into debt distress, necessitating the urgency to reform the G20 Common Framework to make it a more effective process for multilateral debt restructurings, he urged.
Calling for a simplified process of rechanneling Special Drawing Rights to developing countries and the honoring of pledges, Mr. Pedro urged African Multilateral Development Banks to help in de-risking investments on the continent to reduce its dependence on the rest of the world.
Optimistic that a recovery, which leverages the human and economic potential on the African continent, was possible, Mr. Pedro cited that such recovery starts with jobs and skills. In addition, inclusive and resilient recovery needs must be underpinned by green and equitable growth while ensuring a just energy transition to achieve the fundamental goal of access to electricity for all on the continent.
“We have 500 million Africans that have no access to electricity, and this must change,” Mr. Pedro emphasized, urging Africa to tap its natural endowments to localize strategic value chains such as the development of batteries and electric vehicles, and renewable energy, including solar and wind.
Besides, Africa needs to operationalize local content policies and national suppliers’ development programmes to accelerate the emergence of globally competitive SMEs and expand the job market.
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD TUESDAY 14 FEBRUARY 2023
