Addis Ababa, 30 January 2016: H.E. Dr. Aisha Laraba Abdullahi, Commissioner for Political Affairs of the African Union Commission met with H.E. Mr. PekkaOlaviHaavisto, Special envoy for the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Finland. The Minister was accompanied by a high-level delegation.

The Commissioner for Political Affairs welcomed H.E. Mr. Pekka, and thanked him and his delegation for visiting the Department of Political Affairs (DPA) of the African Union Commission (AUC).

H.E. Dr. Abdullahi briefed the visiting Delegation on Project 2016, she stressed on the basics rights of Women in Africa as principal targets to be reached in reference to the theme of year 2016.

H. E. Dr. Abdullah also briefed the visiting Delegation on upcoming elections in Africa.

H.E. Mr. Pekka personally thanked the Commissioner for her important role and commended the efforts of the AUC which has shown positive improvement on the continent in the areas of governance, democracy and human rights.

H.E. Dr. Abdullahi also responded to some questions on the upcoming election observations as well as the updates on issues on constitutionalism and terms limit in Africa.

The Special Envoy ended his visit by highlighting the importance of any initiative from the Commission for Political Affairs that aims to engage youth an women participation in politics in Eritrea.

For more information please contact Mr. Yusuf Mohammed/ Office of the Commissioner for Political Affairs/ Mohammedy@africa-union.org /Tel: +251-11-551 77 00