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African Union/European Union Summit, issues on the menu

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari joins his counterparts in Abidjan, Cote d’ Ivoire, for the African Union/European Union summit to hold at the end of November.

Among issues that are to be deliberated upon include youth development and job creation, the Libyan migrant crisis, the forced, yet peaceful and bloodless, resignation of Robert Mugabe.

However, the future of the African youth remains the utmost importance at the Summit as the Continent’s population is projected to reach 2.5 billion by 2050.

The education and training of the youths to fully access the labour market, and inclusion in the future of the continent, through political participation amid challenges, would be discussed.

Africa’s population is young, with median age of 19. By comparison, the median age is 41 in France, as a comparison.

It is reported that young countries tend to be more turbulent because young men are largely responsible for violence and crime. If young people lack jobs, with the high rates of urbanization, social exclusion and instability follow.

While the EU, through direct investment, still provides the largest share in Africa, China has emerged as a major player and contributor in facilitating rapid and inclusive economic growth, which the youths can benefit.

Despite the political unrest and violence in some parts of African countries like Mali, Central African Republic and the D’ Republic of Congo trapped in cycles of violence, the Western and Eastern African countries are said to be on the path to growth and development, especially with illiteracy on the decline in most countries.

The issue of terrorism, notably in regions under the grip of Boko Haram, other Sahel countries with the likes of al- Mourabitoun, Ansar Dine, Al Qaeda, with links to network in arms and human trafficking as well as drugs will also be discussed.

A viable anti–Boko Haram strategy would aim at enabling the countries of the region; Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Benin, to pool their efforts to fight terrorism under a coalition.

The European Union has announced an aid package of 50 million euros, but the funding pledge, made in 2016, is yet to materialize due to bureaucratic issues, as EU laws require that the funds be distributed equally to ECOWAS member countries.

Meanwhile, Chad, which was to devote 5,000 men to coalition operations, and has staged necessary interventions in neighboring countries, is showing reluctance to continue, claiming it does not have the means for such commitments.

The other challenge is the need for sovereign nation-states to assert their hold on the territories they are meant to control, Libya and Somalia are two poignant examples.

These issues are at the heart of the agenda of the Abidjan Summit and will be the subject of bilateral and multilateral discussions.

The fifth African Union – European Union (AUEUsummit holds November 29-30, 2017 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

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