Algeria Blocks the Zionist Entity’s Way in the African Summit

Algeria, accompanied by the State of South Africa, succeeded in preventing the Zionist entity from attending the 36th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of African Union Summit of Heads of State and Government, which will open its works this Saturday 18-19 February 2023, through cancelling an invitation sent by the AU Commission to Israel to attend the opening of the summit after pressure exerted by Algeria and Johannesburg and their allies on the continent, to prevent the entity from attending any activity at the summit.

This comes while a decision regarding stripping Israel of the observer status in the organization is still pending official announcement, according to what was revealed by frequent sources who confirmed that the AU’s Commission had invited the ambassador of the Zionist entity in Addis Ababa, Aleli Admasu, in his capacity as the representative of Israel in the African Union as an observer, without consulting the summit’s office chaired by Senegal, before countries led by Algeria, South Africa and Nigeria intervened to pressurize the commission and remind it of the decision of the last summit to suspend Israel’s observer state in the continent.

The AU Commission had to send a second letter to the ambassador of the Zionist entity to inform him of the cancellation of the first invitation.

In this context, African leaders will meet Saturday and Sunday at the annual summit of the African Union at a round table, with the participation of the Prime Minister, Aimene Benabderrahmane, representing the President of the Republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, aiming to accelerate the establishment of a free trade zone in light of the repercussions of the war in Ukraine and the continuation of armed rebellion movements.

At least 35 heads of state and four heads of government will attend the summit, according to what was announced by the spokesperson for the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Meles Alem, on Tuesday, without specifying the names.

For his part, the United Nations Acting Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa, Antonio Pedro, called upon African countries to make concerted efforts to achieve a continental free trade area. He asserted that the continental market of the African Continental Free Trade Area would provide a broad economy in industrialization, adding that “this will increase trade within the continent, in addition to helping it achieve self-sufficiency in basic products, such as medicines, food and fertilizers, and provide more opportunities for women and youth to reduce poverty and inequality”.

Among the programmed interventions, a report will be presented by the Senegalese President, Macky Sall, on “Global Policy Governance, Finance and Energy Policy”, and a report on “Institutional Reforms in the African Union”, which will be presented by Paul Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda, and another will be addressed by the President of South Africa, Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa, on the African Union’s response to the challenges of the Corona epidemic (Covid-19).

The summit will also discuss, in addition to the main theme related to the African Free Trade Area, other reports related to the situation of peace and security in Africa and climate change.

In a related context, President Tebboune confirmed, in a speech delivered in his name by Prime Minister Aimene Benabderrahmane, on Friday, during the meeting of the African Union High-level Committee on Libya, that Algeria strongly expresses its rejection of the logic of force and calls for the necessity of giving priority to the language of dialogue and reconciliation between all components of the Libyan people.

President Tebboune indicated that a permanent, comprehensive and final solution to the Libyan crisis will only come through a path led by the Libyans themselves, stressing that Algeria will spare no effort with the various partners to enable the Libyan brothers to embody the priorities of this important stage.

“Despite our concern about the crisis, we are still optimistic because we feel the sincere desire of the Libyan parties to overcome adversity and give priority to the supreme interest of the homeland. We also hope that concerted African and international efforts will find an impact on the ground by reviving the path of a peaceful settlement between the Libyan factions”, he added.

Teboune reaffirmed that “Algeria will spare no effort within the framework of the group of neighbouring countries of Libya and in cooperation with the concerned regional and international organizations, to enable the brothers in Libya to embody the priorities of this important stage to preserve the security and stability of the neighbouring countries that are directly affected and more than others by the situation in Libya”.

President Tebboune affirmed Algeria’s readiness to contribute to the success of the Libyan national reconciliation process, in cooperation with the African Union, to find a consensual ground that strengthens internal national unity and restores Libya’s natural position on the international scene.