The 36th summit of the African Union.. What is on its agenda?

The 36th summit of the African Union.. What is on its agenda?

    Saturday, February 18, 2023   No comments

A number of challenges are facing the African summit, most notably considering the file of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, as well as the frozen memberships of countries, including Sudan.

There will also be closed sessions to adopt the agenda, and to hear reports on the state of peace and security, and the African Free Trade Area, in addition to other files related to the evaluation of the implementation plan for the first decade of Africa's Vision 2063, and the reform of the United Nations Security Council.

In a speech, the Chairman of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki, said, "What is required is to activate the African Free Trade Area quickly to meet the various challenges," adding that the continent's partners "impose strict conditions for financing our various projects."

Faki also called for "the necessity of reforming global governance that excludes Africa from the Security Council," noting that "some of the goals adopted by the continent have not been achieved due to the lack of political will among some."

The Chairperson of the African Union Commission warned of the expansion of terrorism in Mali, Burkina Faso and Chad, explaining the need for international solidarity with the affected countries.

For his part, the Ethiopian Prime Minister said in his speech that "Africa must be represented in the Security Council with at least one permanent seat and two non-permanent seats."

In turn, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, "The Russian-Ukrainian war has directly affected the lives of the African people, who bear the greatest challenges," he said.

Guterres considered that "Africa needs international financing to relieve the burden of debt burdened with it," calling on the other hand for the return of the democratic path in Sudan, Mali and Burkina Faso.

And the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry announced earlier that the leaders of 36 African countries confirmed their attendance at the summit, which begins with an open session that includes several speakers, most notably Senegalese President Macky Sall, head of the ending session of the Union, and President of the Comoros Ghazali Osmani, head of the next session, in addition to the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

In a message to African leaders, Chinese President Xi Jinping said Saturday that he stands ready to work with leaders of African countries to build a high-level China-Africa community with a shared future.  Xi made the pledge in his message to the 36th African Union (AU) Summit, in which he extended congratulations to African countries and the African people on the opening of the summit, according to Chinese media reporting.

Iran builds hypersonic ballistic missile

Iran builds hypersonic ballistic missile

    Thursday, November 10, 2022   No comments

Iran has produced a hypersonic ballistic missile for the first time, as announced by the commander of the Aerospace Force of the Revolutionary Guards, General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, today.

"This new missile can penetrate all missile defense systems, and I do not think that the technology capable of confronting it will be found for decades to come," Iran's Fars news agency quoted Hajizadeh as saying.

He continued, "This missile targets the enemy's anti-missile systems, and is considered a great generational leap in the field of missiles."

Hypersonic missiles are known for their high maneuverability while in motion, and these missiles can change their trajectory while moving very quickly and make their movement difficult to track and predict.

Jane's Bulletin stated that hypersonic missiles, which fly at speeds of more than six thousand kilometers per hour, pose a challenge to radar designers because of their high speed and maneuverability.

Several countries are seeking to develop hypersonic missiles, while Russia appears to be advanced in this field with several types of these missiles.

Reactions:

The Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, said today, in an interview with Agence France-Presse in Sharm el-Sheikh, that the manufacture of an Iranian hypersonic ballistic missile, exacerbates international "concerns" about Iran.

Grossi said on the sidelines of the COP27 Climate Conference in Sharm el-Sheikh that this issue is not within the agency's competence, "but we cannot look at things in isolation (...) These announcements exacerbate fears and increase attention to the Iranian nuclear file." "It must have an effect," he said.

Background:

In spite of sanctions; or perhaps because of sanctions, Iran was able to develop an indigenous military program consisting of drones, missiles, and marine vessels that the world knows very little about. The efficacy of the drones was tested recently in a battlefield crowned by weapons supplied by the most advanced nation-states in the world.