At least 40 heads of state and government are expected in the Belgian capital Brussels for a Summit with the European Union, officials said on Wednesday ahead of the crucial inter-bloc meeting.
Expected attendees
The leaders, including Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat, Senegalese President Macky Sall, the current Chairperson of the African Union, and Burundian leader Evariste Ndayishimiye, will grace the meeting between European Union and African Union blocs, a first physical gathering of this level since the Covid-19 pandemic struck more than two years ago.
The attendance list on Wednesday indicates more African heads of state will gather in Europe for the meeting than the number that attended the AU General Assembly in Addis Ababa last week.
The Burundian leader, for example, will be touring Brussels for the first time since the European Union lifted sanctions on his country earlier this month, having been imposed in 2016.
PM Abiy might come face to face with World Health Organization boss Tedros Adhanom, an Ethiopian national his country had accused of fuelling the Tigray conflict. Ethiopia had even withdrawn his nomination for a second term at the WHO.
Dr Tedros, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, World Trade Organisation Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and Werner Hoyer, President of the European Investment Bank, are among the key speakers at events at the Summit.
