AU Executive Council opens in Addis Ababa

The two-day 48thOrdinary Session of the Executive Council of the African Union (AU) has officially opened today in Addis Ababa, with a call on Foreign Ministers from across the continent to engage into devoted deliberations that will reflect the aspirations of the African continent. The deliberations at the high-level ministerial meeting will prepare the platform for the 39thOrdinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government, slated for February 14 and 15, 2026 at the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa. Chairperson of the Executive Council, Tete Antonia, said during the official opening that the meeting plays a vital role in shaping the strategic direction of the AU by coordinating and reviewing key policy areas of common interest to member states.

Zambia is being represented in the council meeting by Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Mulambo Haimbe, who is accompanied by his Permanent Secretary for International Relations and Cooperation, Etambuyu Gundersen and Zambia’s Ambassador to Ethiopia and Permanent Representative to the AU as well as United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Albert Muchanga. Mr Haimbe said the theme for this year’s ordinary session of the African Union summit, ‘Assuring sustainable water availability and safe sanitation to achieve the goals of Agenda 2063’, is of critical importance to Zambia. He said in an interview that the water deficit leads to energy and food insecurity and compromises general development of a given region.

“As you all know, the absence of energy, which is for us as a country, driven through the hydro facilities that we have, becomes a security challenge. This is one of the themes which this particular African Union summit will be looking at,” he said. Mr Haimbe added that the theme speaks directly to the wellbeing of the Zambian people hence the conversations in the ongoing Executive Council meeting and subsequently in the AU summit this weekend, will be very important.

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He further said the discussions align well with Zambia’s efforts especially that the country has been one of the champions towards driving matters of water and sanitation on the African continent. “As you know we did host the PanAfcon five, which was an important part of the deliberations leading to where we are today and we expect that here at the summit, we will adopt the continent-wide water and sanitation policy,” Mr Haimbe said. In line with its mandate, the Council is tasked with harmonizing policy frameworks, reviewing reports from AU organs and specialised committees, and consolidating recommendations that will guide deliberations at the highest political level. The media reports that the outcomes of the Executive Council session will directly inform the decisions and declarations to be adopted by Heads of State and Government during their meeting this weekend.

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