Addressing the 10th Ministerial Meeting of the Coordination Committee of the Africa-Arab Partnership on Friday, Youssouf said the two regions needed to move decisively from declarations to implementation. He identified completion of the Joint Africa-Arab Action Plan, firm timetables for priority projects and sustainable financing arrangements as immediate requirements for producing measurable results.
The meeting brought ministers and senior representatives from African and Arab states together as the African Union Commission and League of Arab States seek to give fresh momentum to a cooperation framework spanning trade, investment, infrastructure, security and development. The gathering followed a senior officials’ meeting held at the League’s headquarters in Cairo on August 5, which reviewed implementation of decisions from the fourth Africa-Arab Summit in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, in 2016.
Youssouf said the approaching 50th anniversary offered an opportunity to assess what the partnership had achieved, confront unresolved difficulties and give cooperation stronger strategic and practical direction. He argued that future work should be judged by tangible benefits delivered to people across both regions rather than by declarations alone.
Among the priorities highlighted by the AU Commission chairperson were expanded trade and investment, infrastructure development, peace and security, food security, and greater cultural and knowledge exchange. His intervention placed financing and implementation at the centre of preparations for the partnership’s next phase, with clear project beneficiaries and deadlines proposed as ways to strengthen accountability.
Youssouf also called for closer institutional coordination between the African Union Commission and the League of Arab States, particularly as the two organisations prepare for the fifth Africa-Arab Summit. The AU said shared historical ties, strategic interests and common aspirations provided a basis for more practical and results-oriented cooperation amid a changing international environment.
The ministerial discussion also drew calls from participating governments for stronger economic links. Iraq’s Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said the partnership should develop mechanisms capable of responding to economic and security challenges, while placing greater emphasis on investment, trade and sustainable development. He said cooperation should reflect the resources and opportunities available across the African and Arab regions.
Hussein also stressed the importance of activating agreed frameworks and strengthening coordination between the League of Arab States and the African Union. His remarks broadly echoed the AU Commission’s emphasis on translating established political understandings into programmes with clearer implementation mechanisms.
The coordination process is intended to maintain political and technical follow-up between the two regional groupings. At the August senior officials’ meeting, participants examined implementation of the Malabo summit outcomes and preparations for the next summit, underscoring the long interval since leaders last met under the formal Africa-Arab summit framework.
The partnership reaches its half-century milestone next year, giving the two organisations a defined timetable for reviewing cooperation and deciding which initiatives should receive priority. Youssouf said 2027 should become a year of renewal and renewed commitment, with the anniversary used to address outstanding challenges rather than serving only as a commemorative marker.
His focus on sustainable financing reflects a practical obstacle facing broad interregional programmes: political agreements require identifiable funding sources, implementing institutions and schedules before projects can advance. The AU statement did not announce new funding commitments or specify individual projects, leaving those details to the continuing coordination process and the proposed joint action plan.
Preparations for the fifth summit are therefore expected to involve further work between the AU Commission and the League secretariat on priorities, financing and institutional responsibilities. The ministerial meeting itself forms part of that mechanism, linking decisions at leadership level with follow-up by ministers and senior officials.
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