Delegations from a dozen countries took part on Wednesday May 3, 2023 in the first Conference of Foreign Ministers of the African Political Alliance (APA), held in Lomé, the Capital of the Republic of Togo. Under-representation of Africa in multilateral institutions of global governance was part of the major topics discussed yesterday.
The event chaired by Victoire TOMEGAH-DOGBE, Prime Minister of the of Togo, and Robert DUSSEY, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and Togolese Abroad, saw the presence of many diplomats from various African countries.
They were from Angola, Burkina Faso, the Central African Republic, Gabon, Guinea, Libya, Mali, Namibia, Tanzania and the host Togo.
In her opening speech, H.E. Mrs. Victoire TOMEGAH-DOGBE recalled the continent current challenges which led Togo to launch the idea of the African Political Alliance (APA).
During their deliberations, the participants discussed among others, the challenges and prospects relating to the strategic positioning, sovereignty and expression of Africa’s common positions on the international scene.
“The Ministers deplored the under-representation of Africa in multilateral institutions of global governance, starting with the United Nations, and underlined that today, it is unacceptable that Africa, which alone brings together almost 28 % of United Nations member states, does not have a permanent representative with veto power on the Security Council”, read a press release after the meeting.
The participants also examined issues and current challenges of pan-Africanism and African renaissance, the challenges of strengthening cooperation and endogenous capacities to respond to terrorism, as well as the main axes of cooperation and the institutional outlines of the African Political Alliance.