ADDIS ABABA, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- The shifting global landscape, along with current shocks and uncertainties, should serve as a wake-up call for Africa to enhance its collective unity and seek permanent solutions to the continent's development and security challenges under the auspices of the African Union (AU), AU officials said Wednesday.

"The current global evolution, which is quite concerning and full of uncertainties, invites us to choose the best path for ourselves and to continue making efforts to find sustainable solutions to Africa's challenges," said Mohamed Salem Ould Merzoug, Mauritania's minister of foreign affairs and chairperson of the AU Executive Council for 2024.

Merzoug made the remarks while addressing the opening session of the 46th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council of the AU, which began Wednesday at the headquarters of the 55-member pan-African bloc in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

He said the past year has witnessed various crises both in Africa and the rest of the world, including the ongoing Ukraine crisis, the Palestine-Israel conflict, and conflicts and security challenges in different parts of Africa.

"We should learn from the current uncertainties that finding a collective solution must be a permanent concern for us. The only alternative we have is to strengthen our continental organization, the AU, which should be the primary platform for advancing our continental projects and aspirations," he said.

The sentiment was echoed by African foreign ministers and other AU officials attending the AU Executive Council meeting.

Ethiopian Minister of Foreign Affairs Gedion Timothewos said that the myriad challenges Africa currently faces, ranging from climate change to pandemics, require the continent to redouble its collective efforts to strengthen the United Nations, the African Union and other regional bodies within Africa.

"The coming wave of changes could either lift us to a better position or throw us into the unknown. How we manage the risks and how we utilize the opportunities of the new era will determine our destiny as a continent," Timothewos said, stressing that Africa's future depends on the continent's collective will and action.

AU Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat, for his part, called for "urgent actions" in light of the increasingly concerning challenges and uncertainties facing the global multilateral structure.

The AU Executive Council meeting, which brings together foreign ministers from AU members and runs from Wednesday to Thursday, is being held under the AU's theme for 2025: "Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations."

During the meeting, the ministers are expected to elect six commissioners for the AU Commission. They will also review the draft agenda and decisions for the 38th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Heads of State and Government of the AU, scheduled for Saturday and Sunday. Enditem

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