Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn  has been elected as the new African Union chairperson.Hailemariam takes over from , Mr Thomas Boni Yayi who was elected in January last year.

Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn was elected chairman of the African Union at the on going  20th  AU summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.The summit is running under the theme ,Theme: “Pan-Africanism and African Renaissance”.

The talks have been dominated by the on going conflict in Mali .The leaders discussed the different approaches to end the conflict ,which includes joint support to provide security .

The leaders also discussed the  conflict in Democratic Republic of Congo and Southern Sudan.

“Much still needs to be done to resolve ongoing, renewed, and new conflict situations in a number of countries,” AU Commission chief Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said in her opening speech.

“We cannot overemphasise the need for peace and security – without peace and security no country or region can expect to achieve prosperity for all its citizens,” she told the bi-annual summit in the Ethiopian capital.

The summit kicked off on January 21 and ends today,January 28th.

By UP