President Cyril Ramaphosa will lead South Africa’s participation in the 35th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU).
The annual AU Summit takes place on Saturday and Sunday 5 and 6 February 2022 in Addis Ababa, the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.
President Ramaphosa will participate virtually in the deliberations.
The 35th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Heads of State and Government of the African Union will consider a range of thematic issues such as the state of peace and security on the continent, and a report on the activities of the Peace and Security Council (AU PSC) on the implementation of the AU Master Roadmap of practical steps to silence the guns in Africa.
Deliberations will include the election of the new Bureau of the AU Assembly for 2022; discussions on AU Institutional Reforms; the formal adoption and launch of the AU Theme for 2022, as well as appointments to various organs of the Union.
Furthermore, President Ramaphosa will as outgoing coordinator of the Committee of Heads of State and Government on Climate Change (CAHOSCC) for a period of two years hand over Chairship to His Excellency President Macky Sall of the Republic of Senegal during the Assembly.
The handover will take place on Sunday, 6 February 2022.
President Ramaphosa will as outgoing Chair present a report on CAHOSCC’s performance and impact during two years in which COVID-19 profoundly affected the continent.
The proposed AU theme for 2022 is “Building resilience in nutrition and food security on the African continent: strengthen agriculture, accelerate the human capital, and social and economic development”.
Member States will use the theme to highlight the importance of nutrition and food security, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
President Ramaphosa in his capacity as the AU COVID- 19 Champion is expected to present a report of the AU Commission on Africa’s response to COVID-19 pandemic.
As the Chairperson of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), the President will also provide a progress report on the implementation of priorities of the APRM in the last two years.
Under his watch as the Chairperson of the APR Forum, the Democratic Republic of Congo acceded to the African Peer Review Mechanism at the 30th APRM Forum.
Additionally, Burundi will accede to the African Peer Review Mechanism at the 31st APRM Forum.
The Second Edition of the Africa Governance Report (AGR) 2021 will be presented to the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government. South Africa will use the AU Summit to highlight the following key priorities namely, reaffirm the maintenance of Peace and Security in the Continent through acceleration of the implementation of a roadmap on the Silencing of the Guns by 2030.
South Africa will from February 2022 assume its position as a member of the African Union Peace and Security Council for the next two years.
On COVID-19, South Africa will highlight the progress made in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic including key milestones that have been achieved in mobilising COVID-19 assistance from the international community.
President Ramaphosa will be supported by the Minister of the International Relations and Cooperation, Dr Naledi Pandor.
Proceedings of open sessions of the AU Summit can be followed on https://livestream.com/africanunion/35th-Ordinary-Session-AU-assembly and PresidencyZA social media platforms.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The Presidency: Republic of South Africa.
