KIRUNDO March 21st (ABP) – The President of the Republic of Burundi Evariste Ndayishimiye received in audience on Friday March 17, 2023 in the premises of the provincial office of Kirundo (northern Burundi), the chairman of the African Union Commission, Mr. Moussa Faki Mahamat.
In a press briefing on March 18, 2023, the spokesperson for the President of the Republic, Mrs. Rosine Guilène Gatoni, indicated that Mr. Faki Mahamat had come to congratulate the Burundian President for the efforts and development momentum that Burundi has taken, as well as the efforts invested in contributing to the restoration of peace in other countries in general.
Mrs. Gatoni also pointed out that in their exchanges, the two high personalities returned to the issue of youth, while recalling that, during the 36th Conference of Heads of State and Government of the African Union, the President of the Republic of Burundi has been designated for the promotion of the agenda “Youth, Peace and Security in Africa”.
According to Mrs. Gatoni, the Burundian Head of State was able to testify to the concrete results that are being observed for the moment, pointing out that youth is placed at the center of development through various government programs, such as the Economic Empowerment and Youth Employment Program (PAEEJ), cooperatives, as well as other activities which occupy the youth and which make that the youth are occupied by the work of community development. This also contributes to the stabilization of peace, she said.
Concerning the question of peace, they returned to the need to show solidarity for the return of peace to the east of the DR Congo, where the Burundian Head of State, at the same time Chairman-in-Office of the East African Community, again pleaded for the African Union to be able to support the defense force that is in the region for the return of peace, through the African Union peace fund, as had been decided during the recent summit of Heads of State and Government.
The Chairman of the African Union Commission did not fail to express his appreciation for the Burundian landscape. Thus, he was able to discover the greenery, the rivers, the natural beauty that Burundi abounds. He also affirmed what the Burundian Head of State never ceases to recall that the development of Burundi is essentially based on the exploitation agriculture because, he said, God has blessed Burundi with fertile land, rain and such a favorable environment that does not exist elsewhere.
To close their dialogue, the two high personalities mutually committed to refine the good collaboration between the African Union Commission and Burundi for the development of Africa in general, and of Burundi in particular.