AU Summit Convenes in Angola; Sahrawis Lead Delegation on Conflict Prevention

LUANDA, Angola, August 29, 2026. Sahrawi Republic President Brahim Ghali arrived in the Angolan capital that day, leading a high-level delegation to the 21st Extraordinary Session of the African Union Assembly of Heads of State and Government. The session convenes August 30 under the theme “Strengthening Mechanisms for Conflict Prevention and Resolution in Africa,” drawing together the continent’s political leadership and the African Union Commission to address institutional capacity for managing disputes across member states.

The summit’s agenda is structured to move from formal opening proceedings through substantive closed-session discussions, concluding with the adoption of binding policy instruments. Opening addresses will come from João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço, President of Angola; Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, Chairperson of the African Union Commission; and Évariste Ndayishimiye, Chairperson of the African Union and President of Burundi.

Two major presentations will frame the continent’s approach to conflict management. Ambassador Bankole Adeoye, the African Union Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, will lead the primary discussion on strengthening prevention and resolution mechanisms. Complementing that, Dr. Donald Kaberuka, the African Union High Representative for Financing the Union and the Peace Fund, will address the financial and institutional dimensions of conflict prevention capacity. His role on the program signals that funding architecture, not just political will, sits at the center of the AU’s conflict management ambitions.

The closed session will proceed to deliberation on those mechanisms, with discussions expected to concentrate on enhancing existing African institutional frameworks, strengthening the AU’s crisis-response capacity, and building the continent’s ability to manage conflicts without external intervention. These priorities align with the broader AU commitment to internally driven solutions.

Three deliverables are scheduled for formal adoption at the close: a draft decision on conflict prevention and resolution, an accompanying action plan, and an implementation matrix. Together, they are designed to translate the summit’s deliberations into operational frameworks guiding AU member states on early prevention, mediation, crisis management, and conflict resolution in the period ahead.

Meanwhile, Ghali’s attendance carries particular weight for the Sahrawi delegation’s engagement with AU institutional structures. The Sahrawi Republic will use the summit to reaffirm its position on respect for the AU’s Constitutive Act, emphasizing state sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, peaceful settlement of disputes, and the right of peoples to self-determination.

The delegation accompanying President Ghali includes Mohamed Yeslem Beissat, Minister of Foreign Affairs and African Affairs; Salha El Abed, Secretary-General of the Presidency of the Republic; Lamine Baali, Permanent Representative to the African Union; Hamdi Khalil, Ambassador to Angola; and Moussa Bilal, Director of African Affairs and African Union Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The composition reflects the multilayered institutional engagement that continental governance forums demand.

Beyond the formal sessions, the summit schedule includes bilateral and multilateral meetings on the sidelines, providing space for direct engagement among African leaders. The closing session will feature statements from the AU Commission Chairperson, the AU Chairperson, and Angola’s president, followed by a press conference.

Whether the implementation matrix adopted in Luanda translates into measurable improvements in the AU’s crisis-response capacity, or remains an aspirational document, will depend largely on the financing commitments Kaberuka’s office can secure in the months that follow.