Former presidents in Ethiopia ahead of AU Heads of State Summit

Former Heads of State have arrived in Ethiopia’s capital hours to the opening of the 29th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Heads of State and Government on July 3.

African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat received former Presidents Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, Abdulsalami Abubakar of Nigeria and Alpha Konare of Mali at the AU headquarters on Sunday.

Chairperson MoussaFaki_M received Former Presidents Thabo Mbeki of #SouthAfrica, Abdulsalami Abubakar of #Nigeria & Alpha O Konare of #Mali pic.twitter.com/SBSn2vsESC

— African Union Peace (AU_PSD) July 2, 2017

They are the first of a number of dignitaries expected in Addis Ababa to discuss the renewed conflict in South Sudan, Somalia’s al-Shabaab insurgency and the implementation of Agenda 2063 as well as the establishment of continental free trade area (CFTA) at the Summit.

They will also discuss the security situations in Central African Republic, Mali, Democratic Republic Congo (DRC), Burundi and the Darfur region.

The heads of state and government assembly will end on Tuesday, July 4, 2017 and all the leaders and representatives of the 55 African countries are expected in Ethiopia.

Sudanese President Omer al Bashir announced on Saturday that he will be absent at the Summit and will be represented by Vice-President Hassabo Mohamed Abdel-Rahman, Sudanese news agency reported.

Last week, the 34th Ordinary Session of the Permanent Representative Committees preceded the Summit on June 28, followed by the 31st Ordinary Session of the Executive Council from June 30 to July 1.

Comm. AU_Chergui and Former Presidents; H.E. Thabo Mbeki of #SouthAfrica and H.E. Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar of #Nigeria at #29thAUSummit pic.twitter.com/TwnvrR4x1V

— African Union Peace (AU_PSD) July 2, 2017