The President of Angola, João Lourenço, took over the rotating presidency of the African Union (AU) in Addis Ababa on Saturday and promised to work for peace and security on the continent.
Lourenço also addressed the issue of reparations and the importance of foreign investment in the continent.
The Angolan leader warned that the “immense problems linked to peace and security” in Africa “constitute a blocking factor” to the continent’s development. Faced with a scenario of various regional conflicts, with Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo at the top of the list of concerns, Lourenço pledged to work to find solutions for peace.
It is also the President’s central objective to implement economic and social policies that open doors for African progress. As he has already indicated, João Lourenço’s goal is to create “a vast plan for attracting investment and significant financial resources” from outside the continent and to increase investment in infrastructure, a task he intends to carry out in conjunction with the AU commission.
In addition to foreign investment, Lourenço also wants to increase the contribution of each AU member state in order to reduce the dependence of African countries on other countries.
According to Lourenço, this investment is crucial to ensure that the AU’s goals are met, namely overcoming poverty, hunger and unemployment “thus reducing the likelihood of armed conflicts and illegal migrants near its borders”.
“I would highlight the contribution that Angola can make to Africa’s development, by making its energy surplus available to mitigate the needs of various countries in this area,” he said. This is the first time that Angola has held the presidency of the organization of African states, in the same year that the country celebrates 50 years of independence.
At the 38th AU Heads of State and Government summit, Lourenço also recalled the importance that the Lobito Corridor and the Tanzanian TAZARA Railways could have on intra-African and international trade.
As previously announced, the Angolan leader places justice for Africans and people of African descent through reparations as one of his goals.
“Issues such as fiscal justice, debt relief, climate finance, reforms in global financial institutions and social inclusion must be given our attention so that a common position can be adopted that guarantees the continent strengthened influence in global financial governance, a reduction in the costs of indebtedness and access to the resources needed to achieve sustainable development,” he declared.
On taking over the rotating presidency of the African Union, the President of Angola ends his role as mediator appointed by the African Union in the conflict between the DRC and Rwanda, he said in a recent interview with Jeune Afrique.
“Until February 2026, the Angolan statesman will head Africa’s most representative and prestigious political-diplomatic organization,” said the Presidency of the Republic of Angola on its Facebook page.
President João Lourenço received the gavel that symbolizes the exercise of continental power from the hands of his predecessor, the Head of State of Mauritania, Mohamed Ould Cheik El Ghazouani, in Addis Ababa.
VOA
