Egypt lauds Kikwete's appointment as AU envoy to Libya

Egypt has backed African Union’s (AU) appointment of former Tanzania president Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete as the organisation’s new envoy to Libya.

This is according to an announcement made on Wednesday by the spokesman of the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, Ahmed Abu Zeid, in a press statement in which the ministry sent it’s best wishes to Mr. Kikwete in his next mission.

H.E. Mr. Jakaya Kikwete, Former President of #Tanzania, will take over as #AU Sp.Envoy for #Libya: Comm.AU_Chergui pic.twitter.com/ocPzCJv3Tn

— African Union Peace (AU_PSD) 31 Janvier 2016

Mr Kikwete’s appointment was announced by the AU’s Commissioner for Peace and Security, Mr Smail Chergui, during a briefing that touched on many subjects, among them Burundi, Somalia and South Sudan.

Mr Kikwete’s appointment revamps AU’s profile on its efforts to restore order in the North African country that has been marred by violence since its former leader Muammar Gaddafi was ousted in 2011.

He replaces Mr Dileita Mohamed Dileita of Djibouti, who has occupied the post since 2014.

Being a former AU chairman himself who served between 31 January 2008 to February 2, 2009, Kikwete has a rich background of diplomacy in regional peace and reconciliation.

During his tenure as Tanzania’s minister for Foreign Affairs, he played a significant role in bringing about peace in the Great Lakes region, particularly in Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

He has also been deeply involved in the process of rebuilding regional integration in East Africa.

Specifically, he was involved in a delicate process of establishing a customs union between the three countries of the East African Community (Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania), where he was a Chairman of the East Africa Community’s Council of Ministers.