Egypt's Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly spoke about institutional reforms and the financing of the African Union during the opening of the AU's 31st Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Heads of State and Government held in Mauritania. The AU session is being held on 1 and 2 July under the theme ‘Winning the Fight against Corruption: A Sustainable Path to Africa's Transformation.' In statements reported by the state-owned MENA news agency, Madbouly asserted the importance of maintaining the current process of selection of members of the African commission and the necessity of developing the commission's administrative structure. Madbouly also called on states to commit to special procedures on policy-making in the AU to ensure that the policies represent the participating member states. On the financing of the AU, Madbouly said that Egypt appreciates the importance of amending the current contribution of funds by member states, which he described as lacking equity, as it puts a major burden on a limited number of countries, especially with the increase of financial commitments as determined at the Johannesburg Summit in 2015. In July 2016 during the 27th African Union Summit held in Rwanda's Kigali, African leaders adopted a decision directing all AU member states to implement a 0.2 percent levy on eligible imports to finance the AU. The decision aims to provide reliable funding for maintaining peace and security on the continent through the Peace Fund, and to provide an equitable and predictable source of funding for the Union, as well as reduce dependency on partner funds for implementing continental development and integration programmes. Mabdouly also highlighted the significance of the NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency, which was established in 2010 and is concerned with facilitating and coordinating the implementation of continental and regional priority programmes and projects. The PM said that Egypt believes in the importance of the Peace Fund to accomplish solutions for African crises, though he added that the contributions of African states to the fund should not replace the international community's role in preserving international peace and security, asking that the United Nations bear responsibility for financing 75 percent of the fund. The Egyptian PM flew to Mauritania on Saturday to head the Egyptian delegation at the summit on behalf of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Egypt's foreign ministry has said that Egypt's participation in the summit and its preparatory meetings comes as part of the country's commitment to addressing issues on the continent, especially as Egypt prepares to chair the summit in January 2019. Source: Ahram Online
