The President of the Republic of South Africa, His Excellency Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma arrived in Uganda this morning to participate in the 15th ordinary session of the assembly of Heads of State and government of the African Union starting today, 24 July until 27 July 2010.
This African Union Summit is taking place under the theme of "Maternal, Infant and Child Health and Development in Africa" in view of the critical importance of the fourth and fifth millennium development goals (MDGs), due to be reviewed later this September at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
The summit will deal with some of the issues that were raised during the 17th ordinary session of the Executive Council of the African Union on 22 July 2010, those are:
- Continuing to build and strengthen the peace and security architecture of continent to ensure stability
- Building institutions of democracy and most importantly paying attention to the challenges of maternal and infant health, particularly the aspect of high maternal and infant mortality.
Furthermore, the summit will look into matters relating to the Committee on Scale of Assessment (CSA) which is chaired by South Africa and looks into the review of the African Union member states' financial contributions to the budget of the African Union.
President Zuma will also participate in the 23rd summit of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) Heads of States and government Orientation Committee (HSGOC) and the 13th summit of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) of Heads of State and government. During these sessions, issues to be discussed will include:
- the outcome of the integration of NEPAD into the African Union
- the strategic direction and operating model for the NEPAD agency and last but not least
- the promotion of Regional Infrastructure in Africa.
It is also expected that the president will also participate in discussions on the theme of the summit, i.e. "Maternal, Infant and Child Health and Development in Africa".
It is envisaged that discussions by Heads of State and government might see the African Union emerging with a common African position on the subject of maternal, infant and child health for their report to be presented at the United Nations General Assembly in September on MDGs.
In view of South Africa's participation in the Conference of African Heads of State and Government on Climate Change (CAHORCC) taking place on the margins of the summit, South Africa will invest time in discussions on this aspect of climate change, in the run-up to the Conference of the Parties 16 (COP-16) to be held in Mexico.
The processes and content issues that inform COP-16 are quite critical to South Africa in view of the fact that our country is due to host COP-17 next year.
South Africa will, through its participation in the summit, seek to focus the attention of the continent and the African Union member states on a set of high impact, priority infrastructural projects that will serve as a catalyst for Africa's socio-economic development.
The president is accompanied by the Minister of Health Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, Minister of Public Service and Administration Mr Richard Baloyi, Minister of Intelligence Mr Siyabonga Cwele and Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Mme Maite Nkoana-Mashabane.
For more information, please contact:
Mahlatse Mminele
Cell: 082 8899 432
E-mail: mmineleml@foreign.gov.za
Zanele Mngadi
Cell: 082 330 1148
E-mail: zanele@po.gov.za
