Burundi’s President Évariste Ndayishimiye has been elected Chairperson of the African Union for 2026 during the 39th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government, as African leaders placed water security and sanitation at the centre of the continent’s development agenda.
The two-day summit, held at AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, is convened under the theme: “Assuring Sustainable Water Availability and Safe Sanitation Systems to Achieve the Goals of Agenda 2063.”
Chairperson of the AU Commission, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, told leaders that institutional reform and financial self-reliance had become imperative as external funding declines. He urged Member States to accelerate domestic resource mobilisation and the implementation of flagship programmes in industrialisation, agriculture, energy and infrastructure.
Youssouf framed access to water as a collective public good that must underpin development and peace, while warning of mounting geopolitical turbulence, persistent conflicts and a resurgence of unconstitutional changes of government across parts of the continent.
Outgoing AU Chair and President of Angola, João Lourenço, officially opened the summit, describing water access as a “political, moral and strategic priority” essential for public health, food security and stability.
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On peace and security, Lourenço stressed that Africa’s development depends on “silencing the guns,” citing conflicts in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as terrorism in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed called on Africa to move from reacting to global events to shaping the global agenda, highlighting technological sovereignty and Ethiopia’s efforts to develop artificial intelligence institutions aligned with Agenda 2063.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres reaffirmed the importance of strengthening UN–AU cooperation, backing calls for United Nations Security Council reform to enhance African representation and support equitable development financing.
The new AU Bureau for 2026 will be chaired by Burundi (Central region), with Ghana as First Vice-Chair (West), Tanzania as Second Vice-Chair (East), a North African state yet to be confirmed as Third Vice-Chair, and Angola serving as Rapporteur (Southern region).
Deliberations continue with a focus on water security, sanitation systems, and ongoing peace and security challenges across the continent.
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