The Fifth Mid-Year Coordination Meeting of the African Union, the Regional Economic Communities, the Regional Mechanisms, and the African Union Member States has taken place in Nairobi, Kenya. President Bola Tinubu has left Abuja for this event.
Senior members of the government were with President Tinubu.
The mid-year meeting will be held on Sunday, July 16, and will be attended by Heads of State and Government, Foreign Ministers of AU Member States, and other high-ranking officials, according to the Presidency. The Nigerian leader will also be there in his capacity as Chairperson of ECOWAS.
The President will give a report on the state of regional integration in ECOWAS, highlighting initiatives taken by ECOWAS institutions, member states, the private sector, and other stakeholders during the review period to advance integration through trade, freedom of movement for people and goods, investment promotion, infrastructure development, peace, security, and stability.
The AU Assembly Bureau, made up of the Heads of State and Government from Comoros, Botswana, Burundi, and Senegal, as well as the heads of the eight RECs, will convene at the 5th MYCM under the theme “Acceleration of African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Implementation,” which is the AU’s focus for 2023.
These regional economic communities include the East African Community (EAC), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN SAD), the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA), and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS). ECOWAS is led by Nigeria.
The African Union Commission and the RMs will also be present at the meeting, the President’s spokesperson Dele Alake highlighted in a statement on Friday.
At the completion of the conference, Tinubu is anticipated to fly back home.
