The Delegation of Kazakhstan Took Part in the 38th Summit of the African Union

Addis Ababa, February 17, 2025 – The delegation of Kazakhstan, led by the Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Ethiopia and Kenya (concurrently), Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan to the African Union, Barlybay Sadykov, participated in the 38th Annual Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU), held in Addis Ababa on February 15-16, 2025.

The Summit was attended by delegations from 55 AU member states at the level of heads of state and government, ministers of foreign affairs, as well as leaders of several international organizations, including UN Secretary-General A.Guterres, President of Palestine M.Abbas, Prime Minister of Barbados M.Mottley and a number of high-ranking representatives of observer states at the African Union.

The main theme of the 38th Summit was announced as “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent through Reparations.” The Summit became a significant milestone in advancing the reparations agenda for Africa and the African diaspora, aimed at restoring historical justice and ensuring a more equitable future.

Key issues on the Summit’s agenda included the election of AU leadership, conflict resolution in several African countries, including the DRC and Sudan, AU participation in the G20 Summit, the reform of the UN Security Council, the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement, climate change mitigation, the establishment of African Humanitarian and Rating Agency, preparations for the Pan-African Congress on the Recognition of Slavery, Deportation, and Colonization as Crimes Against Humanity, as well as the HIV/AIDS Summit, among others.

As a result of the Summit, several documents were adopted. Angola’s President J.Lourenço was elected as AU Chairperson for 2025-2026 and Djibouti’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation M.Youssouf was elected as Chairperson of the AU Commission. The theme for 2026 was announced as “Assuring sustainable water availability and safe sanitation systems.”

On the sidelines of the Summit, Ambassador Sadykov held meetings with Prime Cabinet Secretary of the Republic of Kenya and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs M.Mudavadi, Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs O.Nduhungirehe, the Republic of Congo’s Minister of Foreign Affairs J.Gakosso, Seychelles’ Minister of Foreign Affairs S.Radegonde, and Somalia’s Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs H.Haadow, during which various aspects of bilateral cooperation with these countries were discussed.

Kazakhstan is an observer country to AU since 2013.