President Tinubu to attend AU meeting in Kenya today

President Bola Tinubu is expected to travel to Nairobi, Kenya on Saturday July 15, to participate in the Fifth Mid-Year Coordination Meeting (5thMYCM) of the African Union (AU), the Regional Economic Communities (RECs), the Regional Mechanisms (RMs), and the African Union Member States.

As the Chairperson of ECOWAS, the Nigerian leader will join Heads of State and Government, Foreign Ministers of the AU Member-States, and high-level dignitaries at the mid-year meeting which will take place on Sunday, July 16.

A statement issued by Dele Alake, Special Adviser to the President on Special Duties, Communications and Strategy, explained that the President will present a report on the status of regional integration in ECOWAS, highlighting actions carried out during the period under review by ECOWAS institutions, member-states, the private sector, and other stakeholders to deepen integration through trade, free movement of persons, investment promotion, infrastructure development, peace, security and stability.

According to the statement, the 5th MYCM, which is convening under the AU’s theme for 2023 christened “Acceleration of African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Implementation,” will bring together the Bureau of the AU Assembly, comprising the Heads of State and Government from Comoros, Botswana, Burundi, and Senegal, as well as the leaders of the eight RECs.

These regional economic communities include ECOWAS chaired by Nigeria, the East African Community (EAC), the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Community of Sahel–Saharan States (CEN SAD), among others.

The Arab Maghreb Union (UMA), and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS).
The meeting will also involve the African Union Commission and the RMs.

President Tinubu, who will be accompanied by senior government officials, is expected to return to the country at the conclusion of the meeting.