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Luxembourg at the 14th Summit of the African Union in Ethiopia (29 to 31 January 2010)
Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean Asselborn, participated as an invited guest from 29 to 31 January 2010 in the proceedings of the 14th Summit of the African Union, which is taking place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
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ased upon its longstanding partnership for development with Africa, this participation bears witness to Luxembourg’s endeavours in developing and intensifying its political and diplomatic ties with the African Union and its member states.
In the same context, the first ever Luxembourgish permanent representative was accredited as an observer to the African Union earlier this week.
Minister Asselborn took part in the open sessions of the Summit’s Assembly and, drawing on his country’s well-known skills in this particular area, was invited to hold a brief speech at the Assembly of heads of state and government on the contribution Luxembourg can make to the development of information and communication technologies (ICT) in Africa, which is the central topic of the 14th Summit of the African Union.
Luxembourg also participated at a stand organised by the European Union which concentrated on the summit’s main topic, namely ICT.
In addition to assisting to the summit’s proceedings, Minister Asselborn paid a courtesy visit to the President of the Commission of the African Union, Jean Ping, who welcomed Luxembourg’s increased engagement and cooperation with to the African Union. Moreover, Luxembourg’s deputy prime minister also met with his Ethiopian counterpart, Seyoum Mesfin.
In order to develop bilateral relations between the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the African Union member states during his stay in Addis Ababa, Minister Asselborn hosted a working lunch with his counterparts from Benin, Cape
Verde, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, São Tome and Principe, Angola and Tunisia. The role and place of Africa in today’s globalised world was at the centre of the discussions.
Furthermore, Minister Asselborn had a number of bilateral talks with other African counterparts and heads of delegation, such as Gambia, Togo, Mauritius, as well as the Republic of Central Africa.
Luxembourg’s deputy prime minister’s participation in the 14th Summit of the African Union in Addis Ababa, as well as the significant number and quality of his various meetings, mark an important step in the process of strengthening political and diplomatic relations between the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the African continent, a partner whose significance for Luxembourg and Europe is further underlined by the holding of the third EU-Africa Summit in Tripoli in late November this year.
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Intervention of Jean Asselborn at the Summit of the African Union
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