On Saturday, July 15, President Bola Tinubu will travel to Nairobi, Kenya, to attend the Fifth Mid-Year Coordination Meeting (5thMYCM) of the African Union (AU), Regional Economic Communities (RECs), Regional Mechanisms (RMs), and African Union Member States
As ECOWAS Chairperson, the Nigerian leader will attend the mid-year summit on Sunday, July 16, together with Heads of State and Government, Foreign Ministers of AU Member-States, and high-level dignitaries.
The President will present a report on the status of regional integration in ECOWAS, highlighting actions taken by ECOWAS institutions, member-states, the private sector, and other stakeholders to deepen integration through trade, free movement of people, investment promotion, infrastructure development, peace, security, and stability during the period under review.
The 5th MYCM, convening under the AU’s theme for 2023, “Acceleration of African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Implementation,” will bring together the AU Assembly’s Bureau, which includes the heads of state and government from Comoros, Botswana, Burundi, and Senegal, as well as the leaders of the eight RECs.
These regional economic communities include ECOWAS chaired by Nigeria, the East African Community (EAC), the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Community of Sahel–Saharan States (CEN SAD), the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA), and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS).
In a brief statement issued on Friday, spokesman Dele Alake stated that the meeting will also include the African Union Commission and the RMs.
President Tinubu, who would be joined by senior government officials, is anticipated to leave the summit and return to the country.
