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Lawson Mabhena in ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia

President Mnangagwa arrived here yesterday for the 33rd Ordinary Summit of the African Union (AU).

He was received at Bole International Airport by Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to Ethiopia, Mr Albert Chimbindi and other embassy officials with a guard of honour mounted by the Ethiopian army.

The President will join other Heads of State and Government for the critical summit, which runs under the theme “Silencing the Guns: Creating Conducive Conditions for Africa’s Development”.

The initiative of Silencing the Guns is a flagship project of Africa’s Agenda 2063 and aims to achieve a conflict-free Africa, prevent genocide, make peace a reality for all and rid the continent of wars, civil conflicts, gender-based violence, violent conflicts and genocide.

Technical meetings leading to the summit started on January 21. The first statutory meeting of the summit was that of the Permanent Representatives Committee held from January 21 to 22.

The outcomes of the committee deliberations will be considered by the Executive Council, whose meetings ran from Thursday to yesterday.

The Executive Council is charged with preparing the documents and drafting the decisions and declarations that will be considered by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government, who will meet from February tomorrow to Monday.

In addition to key discussions around the theme and the road towards implementation of Africa’s peace and security agenda, other headline issues to be deliberated during the summit include sustainable funding of Africa’s development agenda, specifically addressing the scale of assessment and contributions to the AU’s budget; progress made in the implementation of Agenda 2063; operationalisation of the African Continental Free Trade Area; African candidatures in the international system; the International Criminal Court; and Africa’s Digital Transformation Strategy.

Today, the President is expected to attend the AU Peace and Security Council meeting.

President Mnangagwa flew from Harare yesterday.

He was seen off at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport by Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, Minister of Defence and War Veterans Affairs Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Kazembe Kazembe, Minister of State for Harare Provincial Affairs Oliver Chidawu, Minister of State for National Security in the President’s Office Owen Ncube, Chief Secretary to the Office of the President and Cabinet, Dr Misheck Sibanda, service chiefs and other senior Government officials.

Meanwhile, VP Chiwenga is the Acting President.