From Obaike Odihue, in Luanda
Vice President Kashim Shettima has joined other African leaders at the Protocol Hall, venue of the 7th African Union–European Union Summit which begins in Luanda, the Angolan capital Monday.
Shettima who arrived the Angolan captial Sunday night is representing President Bola Tinubu who cancelled his trips to South Africa and Angola to oversee urgent security concerns following the recent abduction of more than 300 people, mostly schoolchildren, within the past week.
The Vice President was earlier in Johannesburg, South Africa to represent Tinubu for Luanda at this year’s G20 summit which held last weekend.
Shettima was accompanied into the venue of the summit by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar.
According to an officail, President Tinubu’s address to be delivered by the VP at the two-day event will emphasise Africa–EU cooperation on security and trade, particularly in the wake of mounting threats to regional stability.
He is also scheduled to join two thematic sessions on Peace, Security, and Migration.
The summit, themed “Promoting Peace and Prosperity through Effective Multilateralism”, is co-chaired by the President of Angola and chairperson of the African Union, João Lourenço, alongside President of the European Council, António Costa.
The ongoing event two-day marks 25 years of formal AU-EU cooperation, coming at a time that trade between Africa and the EU reached nearly $410bn in 2024, $217bn in EU imports from Africa and about $191bn in exports to the continent.
According to the official programme, participants will hear statements from the AU Commission Chairperson, the Presidents of the European Commission and European Council, the UN Secretary-General and host President Lourenço of Angola.
After the adoption of the programme of work, the first closed-door session on Peace, Security and Governance, as well as Multilateralism, will run until 7:00pm.
A closed-door plenary on Prosperity, Migration and Mobility follows on Tuesday morning, leading into the closing session and the joint AU–EU press conference, where Shettima is expected to deliver Nigeria’s statement.
