Amid challenges, including the return of coups and the outbreak of Corona, African leaders flock to Addis Ababa to hold the 35th summit of their union

This morning, the arrival of African presidents began in preparation for the African Union Leaders Summit, which will be held on Saturday and Sunday, and is being held in attendance for the first time since the outbreak of the Corona epidemic, amid challenges, most notably the return of coups to the continent, and the lack of vaccination in all African Union countries.

The summit will discuss several issues;

Most notably the coup in Mali and the crisis in Sudan, as it comes after a series of coups on the continent, the last of which was two weeks ago in Burkina Faso.

Relationship with Israel

The African Union is also preparing for an internal debate over its relationship with Israel;

Analysts believe that this will be one of the most polarizing topics in the history of the organization, which was established 20 years ago.

The decision of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki, sparked strong protests by the powerful member states of the African Union, especially South Africa and Algeria, who considered it inconsistent with the Union's statements in support of the Palestinian cause.

coups

A meeting of the African Peace and Security Council will also be held in Addis Ababa.

The Peace and Security Council of the Union suspended the membership of Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea and Sudan after the military coups, but in Chad - whose president Idriss Deby died in April 2021 - a military council rules the country led by his son.

The International Crisis Group found that "the African Union's inconsistent response to many unconstitutional changes to government has been particularly abusive."

victory for ethiopia

Fifteen months after the start of the conflict in the north of the country, the Ethiopian authorities are pleased to host a meeting they wish to describe as "a setback for those who declared the end of the world here", which includes many other crises on its agenda.

The heavy agenda of the 55-member African organization will divert attention from Ethiopia's problems and allow the government of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to present itself as a strong and stable host.

Imogen Huber, an analyst at the International Crisis Group, says that hosting this summit "can certainly be considered a political victory for Ethiopia," noting that the government "exerted great pressure for the summit to be held in attendance because this gives the impression that things are returning to normal."