Ethiopia says to take over as AU chair
2013-01-16 22:12
Addis Ababa - Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn
is slated to take over as the chairperson of the African Union this month,
replacing Benin president Boni Yayi as the head of the pan-African bloc,
officials said on Wednesday.
"Ethiopia is going to pick up the chairmanship of the
African Union," Ethiopian Foreign Affairs spokesman Dina Mufti told AFP.
Hailemariam must be officially voted in by member states at
the opening of this month's African Union heads of state summit, which runs
from 27 January to 28 January.
A new chairperson is elected every January at the annual
summit and is awarded on a regional basis.
Before current chairperson Boni Yayi took on the role, the
chairmanship has been successively occupied by northern, southern and central
Africa.
The last time East Africa chaired the AU was in 2008 when
Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete served as head of the bloc.
Dina said the appointment is especially important for
Ethiopia, which hosts the headquarters of the AU and is a founding member
nation of the AU's predecessor, the Organisation for African Unity (OAU).
Strengthening of the organisation
"Taking over chairmanship of the African Union will
give an opportunity for Ethiopia to work hard for the strengthening of the
organisation," he said.
It is the first time the country has occupied the seat since
the founding of the AU in 2003, though previous Ethiopian leaders, including
late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, served as chair of the OAU.
Hailemariam - Ethiopia's former foreign minister - took over
as Prime Minister in August following the sudden death of Zenawi, who ruled the
country for 21 years.
The AU summit kicks off this month at the towering
Chinese-built AU headquarters in the Ethiopian capital. It is the first summit
since the election of Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma as chairperson of the AU
Commission - the body's executive arm - last July.
The war against al-Qaeda-linked fighters occupying northern
Mali is expected to top the agenda but crises between rivals Sudan and South
Sudan and in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo will also be discussed.
