President Bola Tinubu is set to leave Abuja for Accra, Ghana, on July 20 to participate in the Sixth Mid-Year Coordination Meeting of the African Union (AU), involving the Regional Economic Communities (RECs), Regional Mechanisms (RMs), and AU Member States.
As the Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, President Tinubu will discuss the status of regional integration across various areas in Africa.
In a statement released on Friday, his spokesman, Chief Ajuri Ngelale, mentioned that the President will review the achievements and challenges faced in West Africa since the last meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, in July 2023.
“The President and Chairman of ECOWAS will present the ‘2024 Report on the State of the Community,’ focusing on peace, regional security, governance, economic integration, humanitarian and social development, energy, mines and agriculture.
“The meeting will be convened under the AU theme of the year 2024: ‘Educate and Skill Africa for the 21st Century.’
“The Mid-Year Coordination Meeting was conceptualised in 2017 as the principal forum for the AU and the RECs to align their work and coordinate the implementation of the continental integration agenda, replacing the June/July summits,” said the statement.
In July 2023, President Tinubu, who had just been elected Chairman of ECOWAS, gave his first speech at the AU Fifth Mid-Year Coordination Meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, where he emphasized Africa’s resilience and the necessity for unity.
In Accra, discussions will cover the evaluation of the AU’s early warning and conflict prevention mechanisms and the promotion of cooperation among regional economic communities to speed up integration.
A declaration will be issued at the conclusion of the meeting.
President Tinubu will be joined by senior government officials. (NAN)