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Addis Ababa, 4 April 2018: The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, received yesterday the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport of the Togolese Republic, Mr. Ninsao Gnofam. The Minister delivered a message from President Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé, regarding the Single African Air Transport Market and the related decision of the January 2018 Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Union appointing the latter as the Champion for this initiative.

AFRICAN UNION ELECTION OBSERVATION MISSION TO THE 2018 RUN-OFF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS IN THE REPUBLIC OF SIERRA LEONE

PRELIMINARY STATEMENT

Freetown, 2 April 2018

I. INTRODUCTION

1. The African Union deployed 30 observers, including eight (8) long-term observers (LTOs) to the 2018 run-off presidential election in Sierra Leone. While the short-term observers (STOs) will depart by 3 April 2018, the LTOs will remain on the ground until 7 April 2018 to follow up on the post-election phase.

Addis Ababa, 2 April 2018: The Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union, Moussa Faki Mahamat, congratulates Dr. Abiy Ahmed Ali on his confirmation as the new Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, following the resignation of his predecessor, Hailemariam Desalegn. He welcomes the peaceful and smooth nature of the transition, which is a demonstration of political maturity.

Kigali, Rwanda, 21 March 2018: Close to Fifty (50) African Union Member States have signed the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the Kigali Declaration and the Free Movement Protocol by order of interest, during the official opening ceremony of the 10th Extraordinary Summit of the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government held on 21 March 2018, in Kigali, Republic of Rwanda. A majority of the African countries signed all the three legal instruments while some signed two and the others signed one of the three instruments.