AU Commission Chief stresses need to enshrine “African solutions to African problems” principle
The Chairperson of the African Union Commission Mahmoud Ali Youssouf on Saturday stressed the necessity of enshrining the principle of “African solutions to African problems,” warning that the matter is no longer merely a political slogan, but an imperative imposed by cross-border crises.
Speaking at the opening of the 39th ordinary session of the AU Summit, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf underscored the significance of this summit which addresses the issue of water security and sanitation systems, describing them as “vital resources for African peoples and their economies, and collective assets that must serve as a source of peace and convergence.”
The AU Commission chief also dwelt extensively on the summit’s key priorities, underlining that it is being held against the backdrop of “a tense geopolitical context, particularly with regard to hotbeds of tension in the Sahel, the Horn of Africa, and parts of central Africa, amid persistent terrorist threats and escalating internal conflicts.” In this regard, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf said that “efforts to silence the guns across the continent continue to face enormous challenges.”
He also voiced concern over the “political and institutional fragility” affecting some African States, amid “the transformation of open or latent conflicts into chronic crises, and the return of unconstitutional changes in governance systems to the forefront.”
He affirmed that the disruption of the international order is having a significant impact on African affairs, warning of the dangers of external interference in African affairs at a time when multilateralism is facing arduous tests, with unilateral and protectionist tendencies increasingly asserting themselves on the world stage.
The AU Commission chief stressed the need for Africa to consolidate its position by fast-tracking political and economic integration programs, urging African institutions to “redouble their efforts and show greater determination.” He also seized the opportunity to stress the necessity of ending the genocide against the Palestinian people, saying “the suffering of the Palestinians must stir our consciences. The extermination of this people must be stopped.”
