The Arab League has renewed its commitment to partnering with the African Union (AU) to reach a “safe, prosperous, and integrated African-Arab space”.
In a statement, on Tuesday, to mark the occasion of Africa Day, the Arab League said that the celebration highlights the AU’s achievements, both in its current form and in its former incarnation as the Organization of African Unity (OAU).
The AU has worked to eliminate poverty, racial discrimination, and colonialism in the past, and currently aims to advance the continent.
It also confirms the continued work towards a prosperous future for a united Africa, with prosperity for people across the continent.
The Arab world, which is partly African, celebrates Africa Day to express its appreciation for brotherhood and the bonds of friendship and connection between Arab and African nations. The region also aims to evoke the struggle and common destiny that has characterised history, especially in Africa.
The Arab-African cooperation emphasises solidarity between peoples in their endeavour to achieve stability, security, and development.
The partnership, which has developed into an Arab-African institutional partnership over the past half century, has taken concrete steps to create a connected space between the two.
This works as a community to confront challenges and achieve common interests through mechanisms of cooperation and collective action.
Arab-African Summits have been convened with the aim of confirming the depth of the relations between Africa and the Arab world. This is through their endeavour to build joint policies in which Arab and African resources are used in a way that serves the interests of the people.
The fifth Arab-African Summit will be held in Saudi Arabia in 2022, and comes as a follow-up to what has already been achieved in this regard over the past few decades. It also comes as an embodiment of the common desire to push relations to broader horizons.
In the same context, Egypt reaffirmed its adherence to joint African action, alongside its commitment to exert all efforts to reach goals set by the continent. This includes preserving African interests and supporting the AU’s agenda for the benefit of the countries and peoples of Africa.
Egypt also called on the international community to continue its support for Africa in facing the challenges posed by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, that threatens stability and development process.
It applauded the tireless efforts to support the economies of African countries, to contribute to overcoming common challenges, establishing peace and prosperity, and pushing development efforts on the African continent.
This comes as part of the AU’s principles to achieve further regional and continental integration, and build on the achievements made at the continental level. It includes the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) during Egypt’s presidency of the AU in 2019.
