ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, FEB 5 – African leaders will meet on Saturday at the 34th Assembly of the Summit of Heads of State and the African Union’s Government to discuss security issues and the ongoing pandemic.

For the first time, the AU meeting goes virtual due to the COVID-19 scare.

The leaders, during their two-day meeting, are expected to elect the African Union Commission’s chairperson.

The incumbent chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat is the sole candidate for a second and the last four-year term. The leaders will also vote for six commissioners.

The Democratic Republic of Congo will take over the gavel from South Africa to serve as a one-year chairmanship of the union.

The summit will take up crucial security issues in the continent, including the situations in the Sahel, Libya, South Sudan, and Somalia. The leaders will also discuss Africa’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The summit’s theme is “Arts, Culture and Heritage: Levers for Building the Africa We Want.”