34th AU Summit kicks off virtually amid pandemic

Addis Ababa, Feb 7 : The 34th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union (AU) has kicked off virtually amid Covid-19 concerns and a joint commitment in the fight against the raging pandemic.
The two-day AU summit is being under the theme of “Arts, Culture and Heritage: Levers for Building the Africa We Want”, Xinhua news agency reported.
The assembly, among other things, is expected to deliberate and consider the report on the institutional reform of the AU, report on the progress of the bloc’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic in Africa, as well as elections and appointments of the leadership of the AU Commission.
Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa who is also the outgoing Chairperson of the AU, told the virtual opening session on Saturday that the decision to hold the 34th Ordinary Session as a virtual meeting instead of a physical gathering “was based on an assessment by the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) of the risks of holding a physical gathering of this nature at this time”.
“As a continent, and as a global community, we are engaged in an unprecedented struggle against the Covid-19 pandemic,” Ramaphosa said, adding this disease has caused great suffering and hardship across the continent.
“It is not only a severe health emergency; it is also a grave economic and social crisis,” the South African President said, as he emphasized that the pandemic deepened global inequality and threatens to set back progress towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.