BY MBONO MDLULI
MBABANE – Prime Minister Russell Mmiso Dlamini has today left the country to attend the 37th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU), which will be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The Premier left today at around 6am via the King Mswati III International Airport. He will be representing His Majesty King Mswati III in the meeting. Speaking to Eswatini TV at the airport when he was about to leave, Dlamini said health issues were one of the main item on the agenda of the meeting of the African Heads of State and Government.
Other issues that would be discussed, according to Dlamini, include educational issues on the African continent, as well as trade issues among the African countries. Trade issues will be discussed at a time when the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) is still at its infancy stage.
Among the people the Premier has gone with are Ministers Pholile Shakantu (Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation), Manqoba Khumalo (Commerce, Industry and Trade), and Mduduzi Matsebula (Health). Minister Khumalo had already been in Ethiopia by the time the Prime Minister and his delegation left the country.
Other issues to be discussed include the political instabilities said to be taking place in countries such as Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso, where military coups have taken place. The three countries are under military rule now. Another instability is said to be taking place in the northern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which is said to have strained the diplomatic relationship between President Felix Tshisekedi of DRC and President Paul Kagame of Rwanda.
On 30 August 2023, a coup d’état occurred in Gabon shortly after the announcement that incumbent president Ali Bongo Ondimba had won the general election held on 26 August. The coup brought an end to the 56-year-long rule of the Bongo family over Gabon. It was also one of the successful coups to occur in West and Central Africa since 2020.
The Heads of State and Government are also expected to elect a new AU Chairperson from among themselves. The current AU Chairperson is Comorian President Azali Assoumani. Both Algeria and Morocco are vying for the position in 2024.
