Okonjo-Iweala At the AU Summit

At the AU summit in Addis with the theme Refugees, Migration and IDPs. President Kagame handed over the baton of AU chair to President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi of Egypt after an impactful presidency in which he led important AU reforms on financial sustainability, peace and security among others.

President Sisi plans to focus on regional infrastructure (Cairo to Cape Town connectivity), AfCTA the continental free trade agreement, and jobs for youth to address some of the poverty and economic migration issues.

Addressing the gathering Dr Tedros of WHO spoke about Universal Health Coverage as a human right, Bill Gates spoke about optimism for the progress on the continent and the need for African governments to step up to greater domestic financing of their health care.

Gianni Infantino President of FIFA spoke of football as a unifier for Africa and a tool for education and development on the continent. SG António Guterres noted that Africa is one of the most generous continents with countries accepting hundreds of thousands, even millions of refugees and migrants in spite of their modest means. He noted that generosity is not always linked to wealth! True. An interesting AU summit.