Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the role of the African Union in Africa.

Partnering with African countries and institutions is at the heart of the Government's approach to Africa. The UK-AU Strategic Partnership, signed in February 2019, is testament to this. The Minister for Africa underlined the importance of the UK-AU partnership when he met Chairperson Faki at the Ghanaian Presidential inauguration earlier this month. The AU is increasingly assertive and important on global issues of importance to Africa and the UK including climate change, health, trade and COVID recovery. The AU's 54 UN votes and three non-permanent seats in the UN Security Council also give it influence in multilateral fora.

The UK strongly supports the role of the AU and its sub-regional organisations. The UK's strategic approach to Africa is closely aligned with the AU's 'Agenda 2063' that sets out the framework and objectives for the AU's work. This includes leading on the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), leading mediation efforts in Sudan and supporting security in the Sahel. The AU is a champion of continental trade, as shown by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) which began trading on 1 January 2021. The AU and Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention have led the continent's response to Covid-19. We are supporting this effort through the provision of technical advice (Public Health England)) and up to £20m. The AU is also a continental leader on climate change. We want to bolster this leadership through the UK-AU Green Recovery Action Plan, signed in November 2019 by the AU Commission and UK COP26 Ambassador for Africa, Sir Nicholas Kay.