President Kagame and First Lady Jeannette Kagame attend 22nd Ordinary Assembly of African Union in Addis Ababa

Addis Ababa, 28 January 2014

President Kagame and First Lady Jeannette Kagame joined heads of State and Government for the 22nd Ordinary Assembly of the African Union. Held in Addis Abeba, the summit began with the ordinary session of the Permanent Representative Committee followed by the Ordinary Session of the Executive Council of the African Union held on the 27th and 28th January in Bahir Dar.

 

In a presentation titled Africa 2063, made to the Executive Council, AU Chairperson Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma addresses Africa’s failures over the past decades:

 

“If Africa was one country in 2006, we would have been the 10th largest economy in the world. Instead of acting as one, with virtually every resource in the world and over a billion people, we acted as fifty-five small and fragmented individual countries. We did not realize our power, but instead relied on donors, that we euphemistically called partners.”

 

 

The presentation made in the form of a letter which addressed to Dr. Nkwame Nkrumah, AU Chairperson Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma shared her vision for the future:

“With concerted political determinantion and solidarityy, and sometimes one step back and two steps forward, we made financing our development and taking charge of our resources a priority, starting with financing the African Union, our democratic elections and our peacekeeping missions.”

 

Key outcomes to be presented to the Heads of States include a committment from the African Union member states to fund African Union activities by 2015, to create a roadmap for the next next fifty years and to work to increase unity among states and decrease interference by external factors.

 

The 22nd Ordinary Assembly of the African Unions will discuss issues ranging from the MDGs post 2015 to peace and security on the continent including the situation in Central African Republic and South Sudan.

 

First Lady Jeannette Kagame will attend the Organization of Africa First Ladies Against HIV/AIDS general assembly meeting. First Lady Jeannette Kagame was elected Vice President of the Organization during the last General Assembly held in May of 2013.