ES Statement | AU-RECs Coordination Platform Meeting
7th AU-MYCM | 12.07.2025
Opening Address
H.E. WORKNEH GEBEYEHU, Ph.D
IGAD EXECUTIVE SECRETARY and Chair of the Inter-REC/RM
Coordination and Collaboration Platform
Meeting of the AU Regional Economic Community Chief Executive
Officers on the margins of the 7th African Union Mid-Year Coordination Meeting
Malabo, Equatorial Guinea | 12th July 2025
– Your Excellencies, Distinguished Fellow Regional Economic Community
and Regional Mechanism Chief Executive Officers,
1. Warm greetings and welcome to Malabo! In my capacity as your current Chair of our collaborative platform, I am delighted by the substantial progress we have made since February in transforming how we work together toward the Africa envisioned in Agenda 2063.
Revolutionary Changes in Our African Union Commission Relations
2. Today I share transformative news concerning our relations with the African Union Commission. His Excellency Chairperson Mahmoud has committed to moving beyond the familiar phrase of Regional Economic Communities and regional mechanisms as “building blocks” to concrete structural change.
3. Over time, this metaphor has become a comfortable phrase to be used in our documents and speeches while the reality of our operations tells a different story.
4. From now on, we will witness the transformation of rhetoric into action, of promises into policies, and of aspirations into institutional architecture that finally matches our continental ambitions. To do this, we have secured four breakthrough agreements that will fundamentally reshape our continental architecture.
5. First, His Excellency Chairperson Mahmoud has committed to working with our teams to establish a budget line for the implementation of the 2021 (Abuja) Protocol on Relations between the African Union and the Regional Economic Communities.
6. For too long, this protocol has existed without the concomitant financial support for its implementation. This is despite the provisions of Article 22 that obligate the AU to allocate financial resources out of its regular budget. The next Inter-REC Technical working Group (TWG) at its next sitting will work together to develop the 2026 budget for urgent consideration by the Office of the Chairperson.
7. Second, the Chairperson has graciously accepted to institutionalise regular, face-to-face engagements with us, the CEOs of RECs and Regional Mechanisms. This tradition begins today as Chairperson Mahmoud joins us today for the very first time in the Inter-REC CEOs platform meeting. It is my conviction that engagements such as these will allow our collective voice to finally find its rightful place in the broader continental architecture.
8. Third, the issue of inadequate office accommodation for RECs and Regional Mechanisms in the AU compound is a matter that the Chairperson has taken seriously and I am pleased to report that we arrived at a satisfactory conclusion. Following my discussion with the chairperson, the Deputy Chief of Staff was tasked to identify and allocate suitable accommodations that reflect our important role as building blocks of the Union.
9. To demonstrate immediate his commitment to this principle, H.E. the AU Chairperson made the landmark decision to elevate the status of the principals of RECs and Regional Mechanisms by relocating them from the delegates section to the main dais. This important action indisputably recognizes their importance in a more concrete manner. I wish to sincerely extend my deepest gratitude to you, Excellency, for your landmark decision on this significant matter.
10. Fourth, the Chairperson has also taken up the matter of expanding access to the African Union Laissez-Passer for senior Regional Economic Community officials. Enhanced travel facilitation embodies our commitment to continental integration and seamless collaboration. While legal procedures require careful navigation, we anticipate a positive resolution in the coming months.
11. And finally, I want to touch on something crucial we all have been working
on together for a long time, the establishment of a clear division of
labour between Member States, the AU Commission, RECs, and our other
continental institutions.
12. The Chairperson and I had an extensive discussion about this, and
we are completely aligned: getting this framework finalized and
implemented is our top priority and to this end, the Chairperson has
committed to fast-track the completion and adoption of this report.
13. Dear colleagues, we all know why this report matters to us all. The framework will eliminate the duplication we are witnessing across our policy development, implementation, and resource mobilisation initiatives. By accurately applying the principles of subsidiarity and comparative advantage, we will, in conjunction with the AU commission, ensure that the right institutions handle the right tasks, thereby making us far more effective as a continental system.
14. We therefore need to move on this now with solidarity and urgency, for once it is implemented, this framework will fundamentally improve how we work together and deliver for the people and continent of Africa.
Our Shared Journey Forward
15. These actions and achievements represent the beginning of our transformation, not its completion. With your continued input and collaborative spirit, we will identify additional opportunities to further deepen the strategic partnership of Regional Economic Communities and Regional Mechanisms within the architecture of the African Union.
16. The Africa we are building will be measured by whether ordinary citizens experience the benefits of integration in their daily lives, whether traders can easily cross borders, students can pursue opportunities anywhere on the continent, and innovations can benefit communities from Djibouti to Malabo – from Cairo to Cape Town. These outcomes depend on the foundation we build today through our collaboration and shared commitment.
17. Your Excellencies, the floor is now open for you to make your remarks.
Thank you.
Download Statement in PDF below:
IGAD Executive Secretary – statement for AU MYCM CEOs Meeting
