Ethiopia has said it is ready to host the upcoming 28th African Union (AU) Summit which comes off in the capital, Addis Ababa.
The country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs through its spokesperson said they are expecting play host to about 4,000 guests for the meeting. 37 African leaders, three vice presidents, three deputy Prime Ministers and some 49 foreign ministers are reported to have confirmed their participation. A security committee was in place to ensure total serenity during the high level summit, the Federal Police Commission said.
Members of the committee are drawn from the Ministry of Defense, National Intelligence and Security Service, the Federal, Addis Ababa and Oromia Police Commissions, the state owned Fana Broadcasting Corporate reports.
The Pre-Summit meetings have been going on since early this week but the meeting of Heads of State and government will take place between January 30 – 31, 2017 under the theme, ‘Harnessing the Demographic Dividend through Investment in the Youth’.
The Summit in the Ethiopian capital is expected to elect Africa’s next top diplomat after the AU failed to elect a new Chairperson to replace outgoing Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, who did not bid for a second term in office.
The AU had sometime last year expressed concerns over security in Ethiopia, where its headquarters is. The concerns arose from a wave of violent and sometimes deadly anti-government protests in two main regions of Amhara and Oromia.
