AU leaders reject US Middle East Peace plan during summit
It might be the African Union, but high on the agenda at the opening of this week’s AU summit in Addis Ababa was the Middle East as declarations were made against the proposed US Middle East Peace Proposal in solidarity with Palestinians.
US President Donald Trump called it the “Deal of the century”.
However, during the opening of the AU Summit in the Ethiopian capital on Sunday, it was ripped to pieces as the head of the AU, Moussa Faki Mahamat said it had been “conceived and elaborated outside of any international consideration, and worse still, in absence of the main concerns of the Palestinians.”
The deal essentially would create a truncated Palestine, surrounded by Israel’s territory and with pockets of Jewish settlements. One expert went as far as to compare it to the British Balfour declaration of 1917; the very thing that started the whole process towards an Israeli state.
Even stronger were the words from South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa, in his first speech as this year’s sitting chairman of the AU.
“It brought to mind a horrible history that we as South Africans have gone through. The apartheid regime once imposed a Bantustan type of system on the people of South Africa, without consultation with them, and with all the oppressive elements that the plan had. As I listened to the Arab League, and as I listened to our colleagues from Palestine, it sound like this plan.”
AU official says objective of “Silencing the Guns” in Africa achievable
Looking at the achievements made in promoting peace and security in Africa, the objective of silencing the guns and ending wars across the continent is achievable, a senior African Union (AU) official said on Monday.
“Looking at the achievements made in promoting peace and security in the continent, in recent decades, particularly since 2004, with the operationalization of the AU Peace and Security Council, the noble objective of silencing the guns and ending wars in the continent is achievable,” said Ramtane Lamamra, special envoy of the AU Commission chairperson on Silencing the Guns.
The special envoy made the remarks while addressing the 33rd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the AU on the implementation of the flagship project on “Silencing the Guns” at the AU headquarters in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.
Lamamra also noted that from around 30 active conflicts in 2004, Africa must celebrate the fact that it is now addressing fewer conflicts than in the past.
“Africa has a robust blueprint for promoting peace, security and stability, as well as advancing good governance, respect for human and people’s rights and constitution,” he said. “This blueprint is the combination of the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) and the African Governance Architecture (AGA).”
First renewable energy project in Djibouti launched by investors
Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), Climate Fund Managers (CFM),FMO, the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank and Great Horn Investment Holdings (GHIH) announced a landmark investment for the construction and operation of a 60MW wind farm in the Ghoubet area, near Lake Assal in Djibouti. Djibouti is a country with expanding energy needs, located in the Horn of Africa and spanning over 23,000 km2.The country is dependent on domestic thermal power production and imports from Ethiopia for its electricity consumption and is in need of domestic renewable energy capacity addition. Djibouti’s electricity demand is expected to considerably increase due to various large-scale infrastructure projects including ports, free trade zones and railways that the government has undertaken. The country aims to transition towards 100% renewable energy-based electricity production and reduce its emissions by 40%by 2030.
A joint investment development of the 60MW wind project kicked-off in 2017 by AFC, CFM, as manager to Climate Investor One’s (CIO) Construction Equity Fund, FMO and local developer Great Horn Investment Holdings (GHIH). Institutional expertise of individual Consortium members played a defining role in the Project’s development. AFC, being an experienced developer and financier of infrastructure and renewable energy projects, took the lead developer and project manager role.
