The 38th Extraordinary Summit of the Member States of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) will kick off in Djibouti today, Sunday, to discuss a number of controversies and urgent issues in the East African region.
The leaders and heads of government of the OIC member states and the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki, arrived in Djibouti to participate in the summit, which is being held in light of great challenges in terms of bilateral relations and regional tensions in the region.
The summit will start with opening speeches from Sudanese Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok, whose country is organizing the current session, President of Djibouti Ismail Omar Gili, and Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki.
The atmosphere of differences and tensions between the countries of the region, especially between Somalia and Kenya, was looming over the summit, where the relationship between them witnessed a major escalation, which reached the point of severing relations recently, in addition to the Sudanese-Ethiopian border dispute regarding the Fashaqa region.
It will also discuss a number of African issues, including the progress of the peace process in South Sudan, Washington's abolition of Sudan's designation as a "state sponsor of terrorism", and cooperation in combating the Corona pandemic.
IGAD Executive Secretary Warkinh Djibwa said that despite all the differences between leaders of a number of member states;
However, they are committed to finding solutions to the outstanding issues during the summit.
He explained that the importance of this summit stems from the fact that it is held directly between leaders and heads of government of member states in light of the Corona pandemic.
For his part, Mohamed Idris Farah, Djibouti's ambassador to the African Union, said that the importance of IGAD stems from the fact that it is a regional organization, and it is known that regional organizations on the continent are the ones in charge of trying to find solutions to differences between members, and in case of failure the matter is referred to the African Union .
Many are counting on IGAD to find a solution to differences, through its previous successful experiences such as restoring peace in Somalia, ending the fighting in southern Sudan, and supporting a political solution in Sudan.
IGAD comprises 8 countries: Djibouti, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia and Eritrea.
The authority was established in the 1980s as an economic development agency in East African countries, before the security dimension was added to it in the 1990s, and its headquarters is in Djibouti.
It works on 3 axes that include achieving food security and protecting the environment, maintaining peace and security and promoting human rights, in addition to economic cooperation and integration.