President Barack Obama will make history this month by becoming the first sitting U.S. president to visit the Ethiopian headquarters of the African Union – the continental body playing an increasingly prominent role in shaping Africa’s future.
“The African Union is very fortunate to have a very good dialogue with the U.S.,” AU Commission Deputy Chairman Erastus Mwencha told VOA in Addis Ababa.
“The visit of President Obama would elevate it … and we hope from this visit that the key issues that we deal with together with the United States (are) in the area of peace and security, in the area of energy, in the area of agriculture,” Mwencha said.
Pretoria-based analyst David Zounmenou said two other issues are likely to emerge – namely, the fight against terrorism, which he said is becoming very important, and the question of democratic power in Africa.
Describing the pending visit, Zounmenou said it is “certainly an opportunity to reiterate the position of the U.S. on those two key issues and send a strong message to African leaders who want to hang on to power.”
Both subjects have been thrust into the spotlight with growing terror threats and attacks in Nigeria, Kenya, Somalia and Tunisia.