At the closing ceremony, the president of Mauritania and president of the AU for 2024, Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, highlighted the main conclusions of the first decade of the Agenda 2063, the continental development roadmap, and expressed his willingness to begin its second stage.

Ghazouani also highlighted education focused on high quality and 21st century training as a top priority within the AU theme of the year: “Educating for the 21st century: Building resilient educational systems to increase access to inclusive, quality and relevant learning in Africa.”

The president also emphasized on peace and security, promising renewed efforts to solve conflicts across the continent, as well as the need for a stronger African presence on the international stage by advocating for a permanent seat at the UN. “Finding solutions to our problems and the multiple challenges we face require joint action across our organization,” he stressed.

Peace, stability, human rights, governance and sustainable development were identified as key priorities.

Ghazouani drew attention to the crucial role of strong organizations and resilient institutions in driving program success and achieving tangible progress, as well as fostering complementarity and integration to impact and maximize resources. “An Africa that takes control of its own destiny in a strong dynamic on the international scene is not only an option, but an existing necessity. We have no other option,” he concluded.

Leaders of AU member countries, representatives of the international community, organizations and other guests participated in the summit which was held on February 17th and 18th.

Continental issues such as peace and security, political organization reform initiatives, quality and accessibility of education, the implementation of the first phase of Agenda 2063 and the ten-year plan were analyzed.

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