Ethiopia Plays Key Role in Promoting Regional, Continental Peace and Security: AU Official

Addis Ababa, August 26, 2026 (ENA) — An African Union (AU) official emphasized Ethiopia’s significant role in promoting peace and security not only in the Horn but also across the continent, while underscoring the need for African countries to strengthen regional integration.

In an exclusive interview with ENA, Head of the Governance Architecture and African Peace and Security Architecture (AGA-APSA) Secretariat at the African Union Commission (AUC), Ambassador Salah S. Hammad emphasized that Ethiopia contributes vital roles in continental peace and security.

“Addis Ababa is no longer the political capital of Ethiopia alone. It is also the political capital of the entire continent, with the presence of the African Union Commission here,” he said.

“Therefore, certainly Ethiopia now is a destination for many African initiatives to promote peace and security. And with that, we do believe that Ethiopia has a very strong role to play in promoting peace and security across the continent,” Hammad underscored.

He also emphasized the importance of African integration, saying closer continental integration would help address challenges facing landlocked countries, including their access to the sea.

“Africa should be integrated as a continental entity, and with that, Ethiopia and all other landlocked countries will have access to the sea as part of the one Africa that is united and peaceful,” he said.

Hammad also identified several issues that he said African leaders should address as part of the continent’s integration agenda.

First, he noted that many of Africa’s existing borders were inherited from the colonial era rather than established by Africans themselves.

“The borders among African countries are inherited from the colonial era. Therefore, the time has come for the African leaders to sit together and to re-negotiate the borders that we have, because these borders are dividing our African people,” he said.

He stressed that African countries should further advance continental integration to facilitate cooperation and address common challenges.

“Secondly, the time has come also for our African leaders to push forward the agenda of integration. Africa should be integrated as a continental entity,” he added.

Hammad also called for dialogue and negotiations among African countries, emphasizing that avenues for peaceful solutions should remain open.

“Thirdly, it is quite important that the door should not be closed for any negotiations that will lead to a solution that will be beneficial to all, among African member states,” he stressed.

Reiterating his argument on Africa’s inherited borders, Hammad said the continent should reconsider the boundaries established during the colonial period in ways that promote cooperation rather than division.

“As borders have not been developed or created by Africans, so therefore, we need to really re-look at the borders we inherited from the colonial time,” he underlined.