The Minister of Foreign Affairs and National Community Abroad, Ahmed Attaf, held on Friday in Accra, Ghana, bilateral meetings with several of his African counterparts, on the sidelines of his participation in the 45th Executive Council of the African Union (AU). The talks between Attaf and his South African counterpart, Ronald Lamola, provided an opportunity for the two parties to examine the AU Executive Council’s key agenda items and involved in-depth discussions on major regional and international issues of common interest. They also reviewed the privileged relations between the two countries and explored ways to further enhance them in anticipation of upcoming high-level bilateral events. Attaf and his Nigerian counterpart, Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, exchanged views and analyses on the developments in the Sahel-Saharan region, before examining several bilateral issues aimed at boosting relations between their two countries. In his meeting with Ethiopian counterpart Taye Atske Selassie, Attaf explored ways to enhance bilateral cooperation and addressed current regional and continental issues. Attaf and Sierra Leone’s Timothy Musa Kabba reviewed bilateral coordination at the Security Council level as part of the A3 Group (the three African Security Council members). Attaf’s meeting with Zimbabwean counterpart Frederick Shava focused on ways to bolster bilateral cooperation ahead of the joint commission meeting. They also exchanged views on a number of current African issues. The talks between Attaf and his Republic of Congo counterpart, Jean-Claude Gakosso, explored ways to maintain close bilateral coordination ahead of upcoming AU events. With his counterpart from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, Attaf reviewed the developments in the two countries’ regions and discussed the prospects for boosting bilateral cooperation.
