Azali Assoumani became the 21st President of the African Union (AU) on February 18. Head of State of the Comoros, he succeeds, for one year, his Senegalese counterpart Macky Sall. Author of a putsch in 1999, this former soldier was elected at the head of the tiny archipelago in the Indian Ocean in 2016. He has only a limited diplomatic strike force to face the multiple political, economic and security issues that undermine the stability of the continent.
Azali Assoumani The turn of the East Africa region had come and our election demonstrates that all countries have the same rights to lead the African Union, including a country that has an area [2,235 km2] and a population [ 822,000] smaller than other states in the region. It’s a good message. From now on, I cannot disappoint my African peers.
The main challenge is the African Continental Free Trade Area (Zlecaf), a strategic challenge that takes a long time to put in place. Upstream, an important point must be resolved and supported to allow the emergence of Zlecaf: peace and security. Downstream, we must ensure that young people have jobs. In the meantime, there are pressing issues arising such as terrorism, inter-communal conflict and unconstitutional changes of government. We must find solutions, even temporary ones.
I dare to hope that we will be heard. We have already had a meeting to this effect with Charles Michel [the President of the European Council], as well as with the World Bank. These debt cancellations would allow us to revive activity. The message was understood by our partners. The methodology remains to be seen. The objective is to reach a consensus with our donors in 2024.
I discussed with both parties, in particular on how I will be able to travel in the region. Cacophony should be avoided. I will not replace the current mediation initiatives but support them.
Why not. But you have to be efficient: I prefer to talk about it directly at the Elysee Palace rather than at the UN platform. When I was in Paris [in January], I told Emmanuel Macron that Mayotte is Comorian, he replied that she is French. How to find a solution? Unpretentious, I think dialogue is the key. It has been forty-seven years [the Comoros became independent on July 6, 1975] that we have presented resolutions to the UN, the Arab League and the AU. It’s not sufficient. The peace of the region also concerns France. Safety concerns us all.
Despite this dispute, we maintain very good relations with Paris. France has made a very great contribution within the framework of our emergence policy. We have a lot of common interests, we want to show it to the Comorian and French people. In France, there are more than 300,000 Comorians, that’s almost half of our population. So we have to talk. I’m hopeful that we can find a solution.