Mary Akanbi
21st July, 2024
President Bola Tinubu will on Saturday, July 20, depart Abuja for Accra, Ghana to participate in the Sixth Mid-Year Coordination Meeting of the African Union (AU), the Regional Economic Communities (RECs), the Regional Mechanisms (RMs), and the African Union Member-states.
In his capacity as the Chairman of ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, President Tinubu, according to a release issued on Friday by his Media Adviser, Ajuri Ngelale, will address the meeting on the status of regional integration across various areas in Africa, highlighting the achievements and challenges encountered in West Africa since the last meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, in July 2023.
The President and Chairman of ECOWAS will present the ‘2024 Report on the State of the Community’, focusing on peace, regional security, governance, economic integration, humanitarian and social development, energy, mines and agriculture.
The meeting will be convened under the AU theme of the year 2024: ‘Educate and Skill Africa for the 21st Century.’
The Mid-Year Coordination Meeting was conceptualized in 2017 as the principal forum for the AU and the RECs to align their work and coordinate the implementation of the continental integration agenda, replacing the June/July summits.
In July 2023, President Tinubu, who was then elected as the Chairman of ECOWAS, delivered his maiden speech at the AU Fifth Mid-Year Coordination Meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, where he affirmed Africa’s strength and the need for unity.
The agenda of the Accra meeting include evaluating the AU’s early warning and conflict prevention mechanisms and promoting cooperation among regional economic communities to accelerate integration.
President Tinubu, who will be accompanied by top government officials, is due back in the country after the meeting.