EU, African Union and RECs senior officials met to discuss Peace & Security and the 5th Africa – EU summit
The meeting that took place on July 5 at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa reviewed progress made in the implementation of the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA), ways of tackling emerging challenges of peace and security in Africa, as well as the sustainability of financing of the AU and RECs peace and security activities.
The African Union Peace Fund and ways of strengthening political dialogue on peace and security were also discussed. In his opening remarks, African Union Commissioner for Peace and Security Ambassador Smail Chergui said, that convening such a meeting only hours after the closing of the 29th African Union Summit shows the African Union's commitment to the Africa-EU Partnership.
Participants stressed the timeliness of the senior's official meeting in the run-up to the 5th AU-EU Summit to be held in Abidjan in November 2017, as well as against the backdrop of Africa's determination to silence the guns on the continent by the year 2020.
In a related development, the EU and African union joint steering committee discussed the modality and substance of the 5th Africa EU Summit. The Summit will focus on Youth, Jobs, Investment and Peace & Security.