On October 8, 2020, the Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Ethiopia Barlybay Sadykov met with the Chairman of the African Union Commission Musa Faki Mahamat and handed over a letter from the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Mukhtar Tleuberdi on his appointment as the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the African Union.

On October 8, 2020, the Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Ethiopia Barlybay Sadykov met with the Chairman of the African Union Commission Musa Faki Mahamat and handed over a letter from the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Mukhtar Tleuberdi on his appointment as the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the African Union.
On October 8, 2020, the Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Ethiopia Barlybay Sadykov met with the Chairman of the African Union Commission Musa Faki Mahamat and handed over a letter from the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Mukhtar Tleuberdi on his appointment as the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the African Union.
During the conversation Ambassador B. Sadykov highly appreciated the role and activities of the African Union and stressed that Kazakhstan is interested in strengthening cooperation with the Organization and will make efforts to qualitatively build up relations with it and expand new forms of fruitful interaction.
The Ambassador acquainted the Chairman of the Commission with the main provisions of the domestic and foreign policy of Kazakhstan, the measures of the country's leadership to carry out political and economic reforms.
The enduring role of the First President - Elbasy in the formation and development of independent Kazakhstan, in putting forward and implementing important international initiatives, incl. CICA, the OIC Islamic Organization for Food Security and others was emphasized. It was noted that the IOFS has a huge potential for ensuring food security in developing countries, incl. in African countries.
The initiatives of President K. Tokayev voiced at the 75th session of the UN General Assembly on countermeasures to the COVID-19 pandemic, incl. on the creation of an International Agency for Biological Safety, accountable to the UN Security Council were outlined.
B. Sadykov noted the activities of the African Union in the fight against the pandemic and stressed that in the current crisis situation South-South cooperation as well as active promotion of the interests of landlocked countries is of particular importance. Kazakhstan as the Chairman of the Group of Landlocked Countries will promote the interests of this group on international platforms.
The prospects of using the potential of the regional Hub of civil service in Nur-Sultan for training personnel from African countries were noted.
The Ambassador invited representatives of the Secretariat of the African Union to take part in events to be organized by the Embassy, including a seminar on the Elbasy phenomenon, a seminar on landlocked countries, etc.
Chairman of the AU Commission Musa Faki Mahamat thanked Kazakhstan for active cooperation with the African Union and its international initiatives related to Africa, noting that half of African countries are members of the OIC and it is important to use the potential of the IOFS to address food security issues.
Concerning trade and economic cooperation, Musa Faki Mahamat noted that with the creation of the African Free Trade Zone, such cooperation will intensify with many countries of the world and expressed the hope that Kazakhstan will expand trade, economic and investment cooperation with African countries.
Musa Faki Mahamat invited Kazakhstan to take an active part in the events to be held by the AU, stressing that the Organization is ready to closely cooperate with our country.
For reference: The African Union is a regional organization consisting of 55 member states. It was established in July 2002 in Durban, South Africa, following a decision in September 1999 by its predecessor, the Organization of African Unity (OAU, 1963-1999), to create a new continental organization to continue its work.
Kazakhstan became an observer in the AU in November 2013. More than 70 countries and international organizations have observer status in the AU, including the United States, China, Russia, Japan, India, Turkey, the European Union, UN programs and funds, the International Committee of the Red Cross and many others.
Observer status in this regional institution provides Kazakhstan with opportunities to deepen cooperation with African states and promote the foreign policy initiatives of our country in the international arena.