AU Executive Council’s 43rd Ordinary Session Kicks Off in Nairobi

The Executive Council of the African Union (AU) opened its 43rd ordinary session (July 13-14) in Nairobi on Thursday, with the participation of Morocco. The Kingdom is represented by a delegation headed by Nasser Bourita, Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates, and including Ambassador Mohamed Arrouchi, Permanent Representative of Morocco to the AU and UNECA, Mohamed Methqal, Director General of the Moroccan Agency for International Cooperation (AMCI). The Moroccan delegation will also include Hassane Boukili, Director for Greater Maghreb, AMCI and AU Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates, and Abderrazzak Laassel, Moroccan Ambassador to Nairobi. During this session, the AU Executive Council will consider the report of the 46th Ordinary Session of the Permanent Representatives Committee (PRC), as well as the report of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat on the implementation of the Area and the theme for the year 2023 (Year of the AfCFTA: Accelerating the Implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area). The meeting will also review the reports of the Executive Council and ad hoc Committees, the AU’s Partnership Strategy and Policy Framework, as well as issues related to the environment, climate change and the blue economy, with a special focus on the challenges and prospects for integration in Africa. The AU’s institutional reform will also be discussed, as well as the concept note and roadmap for the AU 2024 theme on education.