African Union to Discuss 2023 Budget, Regional Integration in Zambia

ADDIS ABABA – Preparations have begun for the 41st Ordinary Session of the Executive Council of the African Union and Mid-Year Coordination Meeting of the AU and the Regional Economic Communities, according to the AU.

Both meetings are scheduled to be held in Zambia’s capital, Lusaka, from the 14th to 17th July 2022.

AU says the 4th mid-year coordinating meeting will focus on the status of regional integration, while the 55-member Executive Council will get together prior to the MYCM to prepare documentation and also discuss the budget of the Union for 2023.

An African Union Commission (AUC) delegation, led by the the Commission’s Deputy Chief of Staff Ambassador Tordeta Ratebaye, is in Lusaka to engage with Zambian officials.

Discussions between the two sides, AU says, focus on thematic areas such as Covid-19 regulations, facilities, legal, protocol, security, communication and publicity, information systems, and procurement.

“As the secretariat of the AU, the Commission works closely with member states, and we are in Lusaka with our experts to support Zambia in the organization of the 4th Mid-Year Coordination Meeting,” said Ambassador Ratebaye.

“We are happy with what we have seen so far,” Ratebaye said, after a tour of the new conference center, whose construction is nearing completion in Lusaka.

The delegation on Friday met with Zambian officials led by Chambo Mbula, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Southern African nation.

“Zambia is committed to hosting this important meeting in July and has already set up the necessary structures”, said foreign minister Mbula.

The Mid-Year Coordination Meeting between AU and RECs in Lusaka brings together the bureau of the Assembly of the African Union, the Regional Economic blocs, the AUC and the Regional Mechanisms.

It is aligned to the institutional reforms of the AU, particularly the pillar on managing the business of the AU efficiently and effectively, at both the political and operational levels.

It was instituted by an Assembly decision in 2017, and the first such meeting was held in July 2019 in Niamey, Niger.