Ramaphosa to attend AU summit

PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa will travel to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he will lead a high-level delegation at the 32nd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of AU heads of state and government, scheduled for today and tomorrow, the Presidency said.

The AU Assembly was preceded by the two day 34th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council that began on Thursday.

The theme of the Session is:

“The Year of Refugees, Returnees and International Displaced Persons: Towards Durable Solutions to Forced Displacement in Africa”.

Spokesperson to the president, Khusela Diko, said the summit presents an invaluable opportunity to reflect on and address the root causes of forced displacement in Africa.

She said the summit was expected to deliberate on a number of other important issues, including the institutional reform and financing of the continental body; peace and security on the continent and developments related to the African Continental Free Trade

Area.

Other issues include; negotiations for a new co-operation agreement between the African, Caribbean and Pacific developing countries and the EU post-2020.

The Presidency said the government intended to submit its Instrument of Ratification of the Agreement on the African Continental Free Trade Area during the Summit.

A meeting of the AU High-level Committee of heads of state and government on Libya has also been convened for today by its chair, President Denis Sassou Nguesso of the Republic of the Congo.