The African Union (AU) is accelerating reforms to Africa's peace and security architecture, focusing on crisis prevention, AU Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf said in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in an interview with China Media Group aired on Friday.
The push comes as the African continent is still facing with significant security challenges, and hotspots of instability, including ongoing crises in Sudan and Libya, he said.
"So we are revisiting our African architecture for peace and security. One of the major reforms that we want to see implemented is the early warning system. Prevention is better than resolving the crisis, so we are focusing on prevention and then when we have a crisis, we need to have the tools to resolve that crisis. The African Standby Force is one of the tools. We need to deploy quickly forces to help this country, to stabilize the country. Prevention, having the tools and the means, and then we have the African peace fund, the resources. There is not much money in it. These are the three elements of our new peace architecture that we want to see be put in place very soon," the AU chief said.
AU chief on crisis prevention
China's 15th Five-Year Plan proposal sends a strong signal of the country's commitment to upholding openness and cooperation, which will promote further development for the country and the world, said officials and scholars around the world.
The draft 15th Five-Year Plan, the blueprint that will guide the world's second-largest economy from 2026 to 2030, is central to steer China to move toward modernization amid technological disruption, demographic shifts and an increasingly fractured global order, according to the scholars.
"China's 15th Five-Year Plan is not a rigid model; it is more like benchmarks for growth targets and focal points. Chinese economists and economic decision-makers are not just focusing on qualitative growth, but also on innovative development. We're witnessing new transportation methods, robotics and artificial intelligence," said Andrey Denisov, first deputy chair of Russia's Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs and former Russian Ambassador to China.
"The 15th Five-Year Plan is of great importance to China's development. The country is poised to make remarkable advancements in various sectors, including artificial intelligence, high-end manufacturing and infrastructure construction. Given the shifting global context and China's transition towards high-quality development, I am confident that this plan will herald a new era for China's development," said Kamel Mansari, news director of the French-language daily Le Jeune Independent.
Scholars also noted that China's commitment to high-quality development and high-level opening-up will promote win-win results and benefit the world.
"China has emerged as a key partner for most countries worldwide, and a preferred partner due to its closeness and integration with global communities, as well as its strong humanitarian perspective. The Chinese economy has not only benefited itself; it has helped many economies worldwide flourish through its partnerships," said Dirgham Muhammad Ali, an Iraqi economic expert.
China's National People's Congress (NPC) is scheduled to open in Beijing on Wednesday, with lawmakers set to approve the 15th Five-Year Plan.
15th Five-Year Plan to guide China's development, benefit world: scholars
