Marruecos participa en la 40ª sesión del Consejo Ejecutivo de la Unión Africana

The Executive Council of the African Union began Wednesday the work of the 40th ordinary session at the headquarters of the organisation, in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, with the participation of Morocco, as a prelude to the 35th Summit of the Union scheduled for 5 and 6 February. During this meeting, the Executive Council will examine the draft agenda, draft decisions and declarations of the heads of state and government at the summit. The session takes place under the theme "Building resilience in nutrition on the African continent: accelerating human capital, social and economic development".

Speaking at the opening session in Addis Ababa, Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the African Union, recalled that the meeting will address critical issues that require the attention of African leaders. "We need to do more as a commission to combat the coronavirus pandemic and the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area and other relevant issues," Mahamat said.

For her part, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa, Vera Songwe, stressed the need to build resilience to cope with natural and man-made disasters in Africa.

In addition, the Council will also examine the report of the Permanent Representatives Committee and the bodies of the Union, taking into account related data on the stage of the COVID-19 pandemic and its socio-economic consequences on African economies. In this connection, the progress of the implementation of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention will also be discussed.

In addition, the progress report on the incident at the Pan-African Parliament, the recent coups d'état on the African continent and the status of implementation of previous decisions of the Executive Council and the Assembly will be discussed, along with the consideration of draft legal instruments. 

Among the highlights of the agenda are expected to be the election of a Vice-President of the Pan-African University Council and the appointment of the fifteen members of the Peace and Security Council of the Union. The summit should also be the scene of a transfer of power, as Senegalese President Macky Sall will take over the presidency of the African Union from South Africa's Cyril Ramaphosa. 

Morocco's Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita will represent the King at the AU heads of state summit, which is of vital importance as the Alawite kingdom plans to once again seek a seat on the AU Peace and Security Council. Morocco already had the opportunity to hold this seat for two years when it was elected in 2018. The Security Council is especially important for the pan-African organisation and has the ability to suspend a country's membership in the Union.

The head of Moroccan diplomacy also has the responsibility of kicking off this session of African multilateralism by participating in a meeting of the Executive Committee scheduled for 3 February, which traditionally brings together the continent's foreign ministers. 

Despite the long list of issues to be addressed at the Summit, one topic that could lead to tense debates and exchanges is relations with Israel. Controversy erupted in July when the chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, accepted Israel with observer status in the organisation. AU members led by South Africa protested that it was a fait accompli and that the move went against many AU statements that supported the Palestinian territories.

Diplomatic heads failed to agree and both South Africa and Algeria put it on the agenda of the summit of state leaders that begins on 5 February.