Egypt’s Abdel Fattah el-Sisi elected new chairman of African Union

AP | Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi was elected chairman of the African Union at the continental body’s summit in Ethiopia.

Also at the African Union (AU) meeting Sunday, a statue of Ethiopia’s last emperor was unveiled.

el-Sisi addressed the summit after being elected the new chairman, saying he would focus on security on the African continent.

“Our work must continue to improve peace and security in Africa in a holistic and sustainable manner,” el-Sisi said. “Mediation and preventive diplomacy will remain one of the priorities of the AU.”

The new AU chairman said that “counter-terrorism requires the identification of those who support and finance it and combating them collectively. While we are aware of the difficulty and complexity of the struggle, this remains the only appropriate way to uproot terrorism and eradicate it.”

Egyptian leaders have been absent from African Union meetings since 1995 when an assassination attempt was made on the life of former leader Hosni Mubarak.

el-Sisi’s election brought to an end the 1-year chairmanship of Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame.

AU chairmen set agendas of issues to be addressed during their 1-year tenure.

During his tenure, Kagame dramatically challenged the election results in the Democratic Republic of Congo.