BUJUMBURA, February 20th (ABP) – The President of the Republic of Burundi, Evariste Ndayishimiye, had the opportunity to receive various personalities in audience, on the sidelines of the 38th ordinary session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU) from February 15 to 16, 2025, according to the spokesperson for the president, Rosine Guilène Gatoni, in an interview given to the press upon the president’s return.
Ms. Gatoni indicated that the 38th session, which brought together the main African leaders and the heads of other organizations, gave the Burundian Head of State the opportunity to meet with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres. This talk allowed them to positively appreciate the quality of the cooperation relationship between Burundi and the United Nations systems, a cooperation that is distinguished by its support for the government’s programmes and projects aimed at achieving the vision of an emerging and developed Burundi, Spokesperson Gatoni underscored.
Their talks, she added, were also an opportunity to discuss issues of common interest, particularly regional, where they raised the issue of peace and security in eastern DRC.
On that occasion, the Head of State spoke of a peace plan in which he called on the international community to play its role in limiting and preventing the escalation of the conflict.
Antonio Guterres congratulated the Burundian Head of State and the Burundian people for the political and democratic maturity that prevails in Burundi. This is particularly evident in the preparation for the elections, which is taking place in a very peaceful manner, but also in the fraternal and friendly cohabitation between the different Burundian political parties, as well as civil society, he said.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations took the opportunity to encourage Burundians, through the Burundian Head of State, to fight for the development plan already underway.
The Burundian Head of State also met with Abiy Ahmed, the Ethiopian Prime Minister, and Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, the President of Chad, on the sidelines of the African Union Summit.
According to President Ndayishimiye’s spokesperson, those respective meetings were also aimed to assess bilateral cooperation relations between the two countries and Burundi at the social, economic and security levels, and to reaffirm their commitment to continue consolidating friendship and multi-sectoral cooperation between their respective countries and peoples.
Ms. Gatoni also recalled that Chad, like Ethiopia, has been a friend of Burundi for a long time, and has always supported Burundi in hard times, during its painful past.
The participation of the Burundian Head of State was also marked by the organization of a joint press briefing between the Deputy Chairperson present in Ethiopia and current Chairman of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Emmerson Mnangagwa, also Chairman of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and the President of the Republic of Zambia, Hakainde Hichilema. The three communities have joined forces to present a candidate for the presidency of the African Development Bank (AfDB) for the 2025 financial year, in the person of Zambian Dr. Samuel Maimbo.
The press conference aimed to present the project of the candidate, supported by all COMESA and SADC States, to share his vision, and to demonstrate the support of all those communities through the voice of their respective presidents in office, in favor of the candidate who will aspire to implement the expectations of the East Africa and Southern Africa countries, grouped in the two communities for the development of their countries through the African Development Bank.
It was also an opportunity for that candidate to reaffirm his skills, as he has already worked in several international organizations, in the financial and economic fields, and at the World Bank. The press conference was therefore a very eloquent testimony to the unity and harmony that exist amid countries, particularly within COMESA, the spokesperson for the President of the Republic underscored.