ADDIS ABABA, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- The African Union (AU) Executive Council on Monday held an extraordinary meeting to accelerate consultations ahead of the 5th AU-EU Summit scheduled to take place from Nov. 29 to 30 in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire.
The meeting held on the premises of the AU Headquarters in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa aimed at exchanging views to have a common AU position during the upcoming AU-EU Summit.
The upcoming summit will focus among others on development of youth that represents over 60 percent of the population in the continent.
In his opening remarks, Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the AU Commission, noted that the upcoming AU-EU Summit would happen at a crucial moment when the pan-African bloc is embarking on reforms seeking to review and reflect on its strategic partnerships.
The chairperson said the summit would be of great importance because it will discuss the AU theme of the year, "Harnessing the Demographic Dividend Through Investments in the Youth."
"The African Union has recognized the urgent need to improve the current state of Africa's youth, any action (or inaction) taken today, with regard to youth development and empowerment, will have a huge impact on Africa's future prospects," he said.
The chairperson has stressed the need for a structural reorganization of AU as well as a rationalization of its methods of work and a redefinition of AU-EU partnership including the partnership between the AU and the rest of the world, emphasizing on a partnership based on mutual respect, equality, freedom and solidarity.
He reiterated his full support for the general consensus within the African part to limit commitments to a number of priority areas including, education, training and skills development; governance, peace and security; and resilience and investment mobilization.
Speaking on the occasion, Mamadi Toure, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Guinea, who is also the Chair of the Executive Council, underscored the importance of the strategic partnership with the EU and the opportunity presented to evaluate approaches to better align the internal strategies with AU's priorities embedded in Agenda 2063 and its 10-year implementation plan.
The minister has urged the ministers to ensure that the interest of Africa is taken into account for the improvement of the lives of its population so as to build "the Africa we Want" by 2063.
He also emphasized the importance to use the partnership to promote the image of an Africa that is peaceful, prosperous and unified.
