[ecr]

At a press briefing about the clause on the forthcoming election of top officials of AU Commission, Attaf emphasized the importance for the African continent to have a major selective and competitive process choosing the most experienced African experts and the best qualified to lead the African Commission, in line with the commitment of the African leaders to improve AU governance and develop its performance.

On the sideline of his participation in the 44th ordinary session of the African Union (AU) Executive Council, Attaf, on the second day of the event, held talks with his African counterparts of Benin, Madagascar, Rwanda and Somalia.

The Foreign minister discussed with his counterparts the ways to strengthen bilateral relations, activate the mechanisms of cooperation and consultation, exchange views on the latest developments in the continent and Algeria's efforts at the UN Security Council to put an end to the unjust assault on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.

The minister also met non-African officials, including the Foreign Minister of Portugal and the special representative of the Chinese government for African Affairs.

Those bilateral meetings were an opportunity for Ahmed Attaf and his counterparts to discuss partnership, cooperation and special friendship between Algeria and the two countries in  the light of the results and decisions of the State visits paid by the president of the Republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, to Portugal and China in 2023.

They also examined the ways to increase efforts with the two major partners, at the international level, to put an end to the genocide against our Palestinian brothers and support peaceful solutions to resolve conflicts and crises in the Sahel region.

 [/ecr]