President Kagame attends 33rd African Union Summit on silencing guns in Africa

President Paul Kagame on Sunday attended the 33rd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The Summit is themed; “Silencing the Guns: Creating Conducive Conditions for Africa’s Development.”

 AU Commission Chairperson Mussa Faki Mahamat pointed out how in different parts of Africa Terrorism has continued to be a serious issue, with innocent civilians like women and children targeted and development hindered. This is in addition to natural disasters as well as epidemics that have continued to rock the Continent.

During the Session, the new Chairman of the African Union, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa promised to make the necessary effort to ensure that wars on the Continent seize; in light of the fact that certain foreign players seek to profit from such conflicts.

He called on African Leaders to strive for the social wellbeing of their people and halt conflicts, saying this year of 2020 is the year the guns should fall silent. 

After the handover between himself and President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt; President Ramaphosa stressed that Africa has the capacity to seek its own solutions to the many problems it faces, saying things like rich mineral reserves should not be a curse, rather a blessing.

The South African President vowed to work to silence all guns on the Continent during a 26 min speech and said in June, an Extraordinary Assembly will be held in his country to examine what each and every country part of the Union has done to make that a reality. 

President Ramaphosa also vowed to continue supporting women in business, with the objective that by the year 2063; women owe at least 20% of all businesses on the Continent.

He also emphasized the need for African Products to be identified and duly marked, so as to prevent products made elsewhere from taking advantage of the benefits the African Continental Free Trade Area is going to provide for locally manufactured goods.

Also present was the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and he commended the efforts by African leaders to improve the lives of people on the Continent and pledged the UN's support in such endeavors.

Later in the day, President Paul Kagame also attended a meeting bringing together the leaders of the Union and it was decided that President Felix Tshisekedi of the DRC will be the next Chairman of the African Union next year.

Late on Sunday afternoon, President Kagame also attended the Heads of State and Government Closed Session where he shared key progress on the implementation of the institutional reforms of the African Union.