ADDIS ABABA, July 22 (Xinhua) -- African Union (AU) Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat has called on regional economic communities in Africa to strive for stronger collaboration.
The AU Commission chief made the remarks on Sunday during the sixth AU Mid-Year Coordination Meeting, which brought together heads of regional economic communities in Africa, and representatives of other regional mechanisms and AU members in Accra, the capital of Ghana, according to an AU statement issued on Sunday.
Addressing the meeting, Faki called on regional economic communities in Africa to boost their activities by working closely with the AU toward the realization of continental development initiatives and aspirations.
"Our regional economic communities are not doing well. Their effectiveness, their credibility, and their weight in the general enterprise of unity have, unfortunately, been greatly eroded," Faki said, as he called for stronger cooperation between regional organizations and the 55-member continental organization.
"What would the AU be without the regional economic communities? A locomotive without wagons. And what would the regional economic communities look like without the Union? A disparity of regional entities without cement, without anchoring, without reference or common global vision," he added.
The AU Mid-Year Coordination Meeting is a principal forum for the AU and regional economic communities to align their work and coordinate the implementation of the continental integration agenda.
The sixth Mid-Year Coordination Meeting was held under the theme "Educate and Skill Africa for the 21st Century" in line with the AU's theme of the year 2024, "Educate an African fit for the 21st Century: Building resilient education systems for increased access to inclusive, lifelong, quality, and relevant learning in Africa." ■
