Mauritania has been designated by North African member states to take over the presidency of the African Union. Since the next President of the organization must come from North Africa, it is therefore the Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani who should take over from the Comorian Azali Assoumani during the 37th summit planned in Addis Ababa on 17 and February 18th.
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The announcement comes from the embassy of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic in Addis Ababa, where the headquarters of theAfrican Union.
In a press release, it indicates that the Member States ofAfrica of the North met this Friday and unanimously decided that the Mauritania would represent them in 2024. The country should therefore take the lead in the organization under the rotating presidency between the regions of the African Union.
The States of the region have had great difficulty reaching an agreement, in particular because of the strong tensions between the Morocco and theAlgeria who each refused to allow their neighbor to assume the presidency. The disagreement was so deep that the vice-presidency, which was due to go to North Africa in 2023, has remained vacant for the past 12 months. A first in the history of the African Union.
Mauritania has long been reluctant to take the lead in the African Union, officially because of the presidential elections planned in the country in June 2024. But it ultimately appeared as a recourse.
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