The 38th Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia has kicked off.
The meeting will commence with the AU anthem followed by opening statements from various leaders.
Those who will make opening remarks include the outgoing AU Commission chair Moussa Faki, Ethiopia Prime Minister Dr Abiy Ahmed and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
The League of Arab States, State of Palestine, chairperson of AU and President of Mauritania Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani will also make statements.
There will then be an announcement of the Bureau of the Assembly of the African Union for the year 2025 and the chairperson of the African Union for the year 2025.
There will be a handing-over statement by Ghazouani and an acceptance statement by incoming AU chairperson and Angolan president João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço.
The meeting will then go for a closed session where newly elected heads of state and government will make their remarks.
They include Joseph Nyumah Boakai (Liberia), Bassirou Diomaye Faye (Senegal), Duma Gideon Boko (Botswana), Navinchandra Ramgoolam (Mauritius), John Mahama (Ghana), Daniel Francisco Chapo (Mozambique) and Mahamat Déby (Chad).
The meeting will then adopt the draft agenda of the 38th Ordinary Session of the Assembly and consideration of the items contained therein.
Kenya’s Raila Odinga is seeking to succeed Moussa Faki as the AU Commission chairperson in elections to be held during the summit.
Raila is facing Djibouti’s Foreign Affairs Minister Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, and Madagascar’s former Foreign Affairs Minister Richard Randriamandrato in the elections.
The chairperson is elected by member states, excluding countries under military rule.
A candidate must garner a two-thirds majority of the votes cast. An AUC chairperson is elected by the Assembly for a four-year term, renewable once.
The seat is held on a rotational basis among the five regions, and this time, the Eastern region is eligible to present a candidate while the Northern region is supposed to present a deputy chairperson.