Africa regained unity with Morocco's return to AU, says top official

Abidjan, Nov 30 :  Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki, termed the return of Morocco to the African Union as "delightful" and added that with it Africa has regained its unity.

"With the delightful return of the Kingdom of Morocco, embodied today by the presence of King Mohammed VI, Africa has regained its unity," he said at the opening ceremony on Wednesday of the 5th African Union-European Union Summit, which was attended by the King.

"With this return, the AU-EU couple has regained its balance, its strengths and an exceptional bi-continental status," he added, MAP news agency reported.

Since the last summit held in Brussels in 2014, the AU has undergone significant changes that are part of a restructuring dynamic driven by its leaders in order to make it an effective instrument of development and integration and achieve the aspirations of the African peoples, he added.

The theme of this 5th AU-EU Summit, which dovetails with that of the AU for the year 2017, namely 'Harnessing the Demographic Dividend through Investments in Youth', "is far from being mere coincidence", he noted, adding that this thematic convergence confirms that Africa and Europe share the same concerns regarding today's demands.

"This invites us to build up a strategic alliance and not just a partnership in pursuit of mercantile
interests, through a deeper dialogue between our cultures and our civilizations and through the
building of a bridge of friendship between our two continents," Faki said.

The 5th AU-EU Summit is themed 'Investing in Youth for a Sustainable Future'.

In addition to the main theme of youth, the Summit will also discuss an array of issues as peace and
security, governance, democracy, human rights, migration and mobility, investment and trade,
competence building and job creation.