Rwanda to lead the African Union in 2018

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By CGTN Africa

Rwanda was elected to lead the African Union (AU) in 2018 after the 29th ordinary session of the Assembly of the African Union ended on Tuesday.

After the closing ceremony, Rwanda's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Louise Mushikiwabo, made the announcement on her twitter account.

Rwanda will take over the leadership from Guinea on January 30, 2018. The President of Rwanda will then replace President Alpha Condé of Guinea for a period of one year, the New Times reports.

Attendees stand at‍ the 29th African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on July 3, 2017. /VCG Photo

This is the first time that Rwanda chairs the Union since it was established in 2001 and launched in 2002 as African Union (AU), replacing the Organization of African Unity (OAU).

The 29th Ordinary Session of the AU has concluded in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa with a number of issues being discussed including adoption of report on reforms of the Union’s institutions, youth issues, and the need to end conflict and wars in the continent.

This summit however saw a low turnout of presidents including Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi, Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir, and Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta, among other key leaders.

Moussa Faki Mahamat, the AU Commission chairperson, said in his speech that Africa would deploy all its efforts to make 2020 the year of “silencing the sounds of guns,” by adopting unified stances that promote peace in the continent.

Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame while submitting the report on AU Reforms urged African countries to unify efforts to speed up the implementation of necessary improvements in the pan-African body.

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