AU Commission chief outlines continental stability, integration as key priorities

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Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission Mahmoud Ali Youssouf on Monday outlined the key priorities of the new leadership during his first official press briefing, stressing the importance of promoting peace and security, fostering continental integration, and mobilising domestic resources to finance Africa's development.

Youssouf said the priorities of his leadership during its initial four-year term align with the urgent need to expedite the implementation of the major aspirations of the second 10-year plan of Agenda 2063, the continental bloc's 50-year development blueprint.

Highlighting Africa's complex peace and security challenges, the AU Commission chairperson outlined ongoing initiatives to achieve lasting solutions to the security situation in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, the peace and stability in Somalia, the escalating tensions in South Sudan, as well as the continued conflict in Sudan.

He further emphasised the pressing need to elevate Africa's role in global trade as a key priority of his leadership, expressing the AU's ambition to capitalise on the Group of 20 (G20) mechanism as a crucial platform to boost the continent's role in global trade.

"We see good opportunities for African countries to increase the level of intra-African trade, which is now around 18 percent. We see the emerging challenges as new opportunities. We are working with partners and stakeholders on the continent to create a conducive environment so that intra-African trade will be boosted and fill the gaps," he said.

Fostering inclusive continental development across Africa's agriculture, energy, education, health, infrastructure, science and technology, industry, and other critical sectors is also among the key priorities for the new AU Commission leadership.

Besides, the AU reform agenda remains another key priority area. Central to the reform agenda is ensuring the AU's financial autonomy and reducing its dependence on external funding by exploring innovative financing mechanisms, according to Youssouf.

The AU Commission chief also underscored the critical need for the AU to strengthen partnership mechanisms with international and regional institutions, as well as bilateral partners, such as cooperation with China through the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.