SPEECH BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC, HEAD OF STATE, HE. MOHAMED BAZOUM, ON THE OCCASION OF THE 35th ORDINARY SESSION OF THE CONFERENCE OF HEADS OF STATE OF THE AFRICAN UNION

Mister President,

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Heads of State, Heads of Government,

Excellencies former Heads of State,

Excellency the Secretary General of the United Nations,

Distinguished First Ladies,

Mr President of the Commission,

Excellencies Ladies and Gentlemen,

First of all, I would like to greet you and thank you for welcoming me today in this prestigious setting of the Conference of Heads of State, in the NELSON MANDELA room which I am pleased to find again to recharge my batteries in the values ​​of fraternity, pan-African solidarity and commitment embodied by this great figure NELSON MANDELA whose memory and exemplary struggle I salute.

Mister President,

Excellencies Ladies and Gentlemen,

I salute the presence of former African Heads of State, including President ISSOUFOU MAHAMADOU , the very man who, the day after his election as head of Niger in 2011, affirmed, here, his attachment to the African Charter for Democracy, elections and good governance, and its commitment to respect the Nigerien Constitution by adhering to constitutional legality.

He kept his word and for the first time in Niger, a democratically elected President handed over the baton to another President chosen by the people.

On April 2, I took the oath and solemnly pledged to continue the work of national construction in accordance with democratic rules and principles.

I also pledged, in my inauguration speech, to strengthen bilateral cooperation with all friendly countries and to affirm Niger’s presence on the multilateral scene, particularly in the fight to build the Africa we want for ourselves. themselves and for future generations.

I would like to assure you that I will ensure throughout my mandate that my country, Niger, remains active in the creation of continental and regional partnerships and synergies for a more united and better integrated Africa.

I seize the opportunity of this 35th ordinary session of the Assembly of the Union to urge my peers to a sustained mobilization in the fight against terrorism and all the factors of violence that prevail in our continent.

Ladies and gentlemen

I would like to welcome the progress made by our continent, in particular with the establishment of ZLECAF. This instrument should be used to develop trade between our countries and put an end to this unacceptable situation noted by the African Development Bank consisting in the fact that intra-African trade represents only 16% of our foreign trade.

For this, we must continue the technical discussions but also continue the implementation of the Infrastructure Development Program (PIDA) , the Yamoussoukro Convention on Air Transport in Africa as well as the rapid adoption of a harmonized system of payments. and financial exchanges.

Coming from a country in the Sahel, faced with the impacts of climate change, food insecurity, desertification, floods, I cannot end my remarks without calling for the respect of the commitments of countries that are major emitters of greenhouse gases. , underwritten in Paris , Marrakech and Glasgow .

Finally, I express my good appreciation of the work carried out by the President of the Commission, Mr. MOUSSA FAKI MAHAMAT . He leads our commission with competence and loyalty. May he receive my encouragement here and through him, his entire team.

Long live the African Union.

Thank you for your kind attention.