AU forms five-members panel to settle row over chairmanship

Jan 23, 2006 (KHARTOUM) — The African leaders here Monday on their first day of the African Union’s sixth summit decided to form a five members committee to resolve a dispute on the union’s next chairman.

Spokesman of the Sudanese Foreign Ministry Jamal-addin Mohamed Ahmed told reporters that a closed door session for the AU summit in Khartoum which lasted for five hours has not resolved the issue and, therefore, the leaders agreed to take the decision of forming the committee which should raise their last word to the AU assembly on Tuesday to be ratified.

Jamal-addin added that the conferees discussed a proposal presented by Sudan on forming an African organization for education, science and culture.

He said that the summit approved, in its ordinary session following the closed door session under chairmanship of the union’s current President Olusegun Obasanjo, the discussed agenda after making some amendments on them.

(ST/Xinhua)