Accra, July 22 The African Union (AU) opened its sixth biannual coordination meeting in Accra, the capital of Ghana, calling for peace and solidarity on the continent.

The meeting, themed “Educate and Skill Africa for the 21st Century,” brought together the AU, Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and AU member states, Xinhua news agency reported.

In his speech, AU Commission Chair Moussa Faki Mahamat highlighted the role of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in promoting integration on the continent.

“The AfCFTA should become a lever to stimulate structural reforms, which in turn will facilitate wealth creation, through improved economic governance and the mobilization of finance and human capital,” Faki said.

The President further called on African countries to maximise the potential of the AfCFTA and make it an engine of growth and diversification of economies, thereby increasing intra-continental trade.

Ghanaian President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo opened the meeting. She said that some regions in Africa continue to struggle with conflict, instability and violence. This hampers development and poses a threat to the security of the continent as a whole.

The President therefore called on his African counterparts to work hard to find solutions to the many conflicts on the continent.

The AU introduced its biannual Coordination Meeting in 2017 as the main forum to align the work of the AU and the RECs and coordinate the implementation of the continental integration agenda.

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