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Rabat – For Moussa Faki, the chairman of the African Union Commission, it is only with Morocco’s “delightful” return to the AU that Africa “has regained its unity” and that the “AU-EU couple has regained its balance, strengths and exceptional bi-continental status.”
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 5th African Union-European Union Summit, which is attended by King Mohammed VI, Faki stressed the important role embodied by the presence of Morocco in the African institution.
Since the last summit held in Brussels in 2014, the AU has undergone significant changes that are part of a restructuring dynamic. This dynamic is, according to Faki, “driven by its leaders in order to make it an effective instrument of development and integration and achieve the aspirations of the African people.”
The 5th AU-EU Summit, considered to be “a real framework to debate the future of relations between the two continents,” is being held under the theme of “Investing in Youth for a Sustainable Future.”
For Faki, this choice dovetails with that of the 2017 AU Summit, entitled “Harnessing the Demographic Dividend through Investments in Youth.”
“It is far from being mere coincidence,” he noted, adding that “this thematic convergence confirms that Africa and Europe share the same concerns regarding today’s demands.”
“This invites us to build up a strategic alliance and not just a partnership in pursuit of mercantile interests, through a deeper dialogue between our cultures and our civilizations and through the building of a bridge of friendship between our two continents,” Faki said.
In addition to the main theme of youth, the summit will also discuss an array of issues as peace and security, governance, democracy, human rights, migration and mobility, investment and trade, competence building, and job creation.
The EU-AU Summit, which will mainly deal with immigration and security issues, has listed King Mohammed VI on the short-list of the four heads of state who spoke this Wednesday afternoon.
He was the only North African leader to speak, alongside Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno, South African President Jacob Zuma, and Ghanaian President Nana Akufo Addo.
The King is among 5,000 participants attending the two-day summit, representing 54 African countries, 28 European countries, and members from the UN international organizations.
The first day of the summit hosted a lunch by the heads of state in the presence of the King, followed by round tables and finally bilateral meetings.
King Mohammed VI has been in Abidjan since Sunday for a working and friendly visit to the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire.
