The opening of the 41st meeting of the Permanent Representatives Committee will take place on January 20, this year in virtual format, under the theme "Arts, Culture and Heritage: Levers for building the Africa we want", according to the communication department of African Union.
The committee will discuss the annual reports of the various bodies that make up the organization, as well as analyze the agendas and draft resolutions for the 38th meeting of the executive council (composed of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the 55 Member States), at 3 and 4 February, as well as the 34th AU General Assembly, scheduled for 6 and 7 February.
The organization has not yet released details on how the two meetings will take place, but it is expected that, due to the pandemic crisis, they will take place in a virtual format.
The African Union comprises 55 countries, including Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique and São Tomé and Príncipe, is chaired by a commission and its presidency is rotated by countries for a period of one year.
The organization meets annually at an ordinary assembly in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where it has its headquarters.
The summit, which is expected to focus discussions on the crisis caused by the covid-19 pandemic on the continent, will mark the transition from the current presidency of South Africa to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
During the summit of heads of state and government, the new African Union Commission will also be elected for a four-year term.
Among the candidates is the Angolan agronomist, Josefa Leonel Correia Sacko.
The diplomat and current AU commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Economy, the only Lusophone representative on the list of 25 pre-qualified candidates, will seek re-election to the same portfolio, which will also integrate the Blue Economy and the Environment.
According to the final list of pre-qualified candidates, to which the Lusa agency had access, the Angolan candidate is the best rated among the four candidates for this portfolio, with a score of 81.65 percent.
Sacko's opponents in the race are representatives from The Gambia, Uganda and Morocco.
The new commission, the first to be elected after the AU reform process started in 2016 under the supervision of Rwandan President Paul Kagamé, will have fewer commissioners and will be elected through a new merit-based system.
The African Union's leadership structure will consist of eight members, including a president, a vice president and six commissioners, two less than in the previous commission.
For the chairmanship of the commission, the current President and former Foreign Minister of Chad, Moussa Faki Mahamat, is running without opposition, but needs to get two-thirds of the votes of the countries to remain in the post.
