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Murray McCully, minister of foreign affairs of New Zealand, is attending the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The 24th African Union Summit started on Jan. 26 and will conclude on Jan. 27, Tuesday.

“The Summit brings together ministers from nearly all of the 54 African Union states," said McCully. "This allows New Zealand to engage directly with member states on issues of interest such as regional security, agricultural cooperation, and renewable energy."

Multilateral Approach

New Zealand, in its current role as the non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, is in the process of reaching out to all states on matters having a bearing on the Security Council. The AU Summit is an opportunity to hear directly from African leaders.

After attending the African Union Summit, the foreign minister will visit Jordan to discuss regional security issues, according to a press release issued by the New Zealand Government. The foreign minister further noted New Zealand and Jordan are serving together on the Security Council. He is hopeful the visit will provide an opportunity to discuss the situation in Syria, ISIS and the Middle East Peace Process.

“Jordan is seeing the first-hand impact of the crisis in Syria on the wider region, and their perceptive on addressing this humanitarian situation will be valuable,” McCully said.

Prime Minister John Key recently visited Europe and met with many European leaders. He also attended the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Acknowledging the new approach of New Zealand, Mr Key said it will be unwise to focus too much on Asia and Australia as New Zealand wants to stay connected with all its traditional trading partners.

Broad Agenda

According to a Voice of America report, the African Summit is significant for its broad agenda that covers women’s empowerment, development, fight against Ebola and concerns about security issues in the light of attacks by Nigerian militant groups. Erastus Mwencha, the African Union Commission’s deputy chairman, said follow-up action on the agenda will be based on what the representatives have said during the summit. A special regional summit on South Sudan’s conflict is also underway on the sidelines of the AU meeting. It is trying to find ways to halt the violent conflict. The East African bloc, Intergovernmental Authority on Development, is mediating the process and it will present a report for further action.

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