The Somali Federal Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Balal Mohamed Osman, addressed the 39th Ordinary Session of the African Union Executive Council at the AU Headquarters in Addis Ababa on 14-15 October.
The meeting emphasized the need to intensify the fight against the challenges facing Africa.
The meeting, the first by African foreign ministers since the spread of the virus, was held in a far-sighted manner and discussed in depth its agenda.
Mr Balal Osman spoke of the importance of uniting Africa’s strong efforts to save its people and documenting the continent’s historic and peaceful future, saying Africa was the most prosperous but affected by health problems, noting social cohesion and a shared sense of cooperations in the fight against infectious diseases, including COVID19, malaria, tuberculosis, Ebola and HIV.
In his opening remarks, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation called for investment in Somalia to reduce food insecurity and malnutrition and increase domestic production instead of imports.
He pointed out that the challenges need to be overcome through cooperation and collaboration to make the country an international food basket, developed in the areas of industry, agriculture and health.
