Sahrawi Foreign Minister met with the Chairperson of the AUC

– The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Sahrawi Republic, Mr. Mohamed Yeslem Beissat, met this Wednesday morning with the Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission, Mr. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, during which he conveyed the congratulations of the President and Government of the Sahrawi Republic on the trust placed in Mr. Youssef by AU member states during the Commission’s leadership elections held last February 2025.

During the encounter, the two officials exchanged views on a number of issues of common interest and discussed ways to strengthen cooperation between the Sahrawi Republic and the AUC, in line with the Union’s founding principles of solidarity, unity, and mutual respect.

Attending the meeting on the Sahrawi side were Ambassador Lamine Baali, the Sahrawi Republic’s Ambassador to Ethiopia and Permanent Representative to the AU, and Deputy Permanent Representative, Ambassador Malainin Lakhal. On the Commission’s side, the Chairperson’s Chief of Staff and other senior officials were present.

This visit comes one day after the Sahrawi Minister’s participation in the extraordinary session of the AU Executive Council, held on Tuesday at the Union’s headquarters in Mandela Hall, with the participation of Foreign Ministers and delegates from all 55 member states.

The session witnessed the election of Algeria to the Peace and Security Council for a three-year term, reflecting the broad support Algeria enjoys for its efforts to promote peace and stability across the continent.

The extraordinary session also addressed several institutional matters, including the completion of elections for key leadership positions in various AU bodies, the appointment of members to the African Union’s International Law Commission and the African Space Council, as well as reviewing reports from the Panel of the Wise and the Executive Council Bureau on the nomination of two commissioners to the AU Executive Committee.