AUC chief calls for concerted efforts against multiple challenges facing Africa-Xinhua

AUC chief calls for concerted efforts against multiple challenges facing Africa

Source: Xinhua| 2022-06-29 22:34:32|Editor: huaxia

ADDIS ABABA, June 29 (Xinhua) -- Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat has called on African countries to work in tandem so as to address multiple challenges affecting the African continent.

The AU Commission chairperson emphasized that the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, insecurity and terrorism, as well as the current food crisis attributed to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict are among the common challenges currently affecting the African continent.

Mahamat made the remarks during the latest session of the Pan-African Parliament, as he emphasized the need to exert continental unity against common challenges affecting the continental, according to an AU statement issued late Tuesday.

"At this turning point in the history of our continent, it is more relevant to stick to the essentials... to gather around our convergences by minimizing our differences, to align ourselves behind our ideals of solidarity, sharing and harmony in order to better prepare ourselves to face together the huge challenges facing our continent," an AU statement quoted Mahamat as saying.

He further emphasized that the unprecedented situation in the continent related to political and democratic challenges, which resulted for the suspension of four AU member states from the continental bloc, also require concerted efforts.

"These multiple challenges are of the utmost challenges to the conscience of the representatives of the African peoples, who you are," Mahamat told legislature of the Pan-African Parliament.

The Pan-African Parliament (PAP) was set up to ensure the full participation of African peoples in the economic development and integration of the continent.

The AU Commission chairperson, however, emphasized that "the Pan-African Parliament, despite the high hopes it has raised, has remained in search of its true anchorage and efficient functionality."

"Faced with these herculean challenges and the need for a general mobilization, the AU cannot afford the luxury of a crisis that persists within one of its key organs," Mahamat emphasized, referring to the PanAfrican Parliament.

The PAP is intended as a platform for people from all African states to be involved in discussions and decision making on the problems and challenges facing the continent. The Parliament sits in Midrand, South Africa.

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