Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), 5 November 2026 (SPS) – The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic participated in the African Union–European Union Senior Officials Meeting, held on 4 November at the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa, represented by Mr. Aman Sidi Abdallah, Minister Counsellor at the Sahrawi Embassy to Ethiopia and the African Union.
The meeting, held at the Nelson Mandela Hall, brought together around 400 delegates, including 77 heads of delegation, to follow up on the implementation of commitments arising from the Seventh AU-EU Summit, held in Luanda, Angola, in November 2025.
In his statement, the Sahrawi representative stressed the need to make peace and security permanent priorities on the African Union's agenda and that of relevant international organisations. He warned against the declining role of international law and the growing conflicts and competition over natural resources.
He also called for reform of the United Nations Security Council to ensure fair representation for Africa and strengthen the continent's role in the international peace and security architecture.
On development, he emphasised the need to direct investments towards the basic needs of African peoples, particularly education, healthcare, drinking water, electricity, food security and infrastructure. He also highlighted the importance of supporting local agricultural production and small and medium-sized industries.
He further stressed the importance of strengthening AU-EU cooperation in capacity-building and human resource development, urging both unions to exercise caution regarding investments in territories whose legal status remains unresolved, particularly the occupied territories of Western Sahara, in accordance with international law.
The meeting addressed several aspects of the strategic partnership, including trade and investment, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the European Union's Global Gateway initiative, digital transformation and artificial intelligence.
The meeting concluded with the adoption of an updated partnership implementation plan covering four priority areas, alongside the joint report reviewing implementation of the partnership during the 2022–2025 period.
These meetings form part of ongoing efforts to strengthen coordination between the two unions. Further joint consultations on peace, security and defence are scheduled for 5 and 6 November.
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