by Alexander Melnik
[REGNUM] The 39th session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU) recently concluded in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa. Its results made it abundantly clear: the AU has been taken over by leaders who are no longer willing to listen to Western sermons.
The recent assembly made history by proclaiming a decisive break with its neocolonial past. The continent no longer intends to accept its role as a "global storehouse" or an arena for geopolitical games.
Western countries' imposition of "democratic templates" where a deep understanding of local specifics is required has been openly criticized.
In this regard, the attitude towards the “Alliance of Sahel States” (Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger) is indicative: although the leaders of the AU officially condemned the coups, they still tacitly supported the desire to get rid of French influence.
The African Union has reiterated its commitment to excluding external actors from the peace process in Sudan, insisting that any attempts by Washington or Brussels to dictate peace terms without taking into account the interests of regional leaders are doomed to failure.
Burundi's President Evariste Ndayishimiye, elected as the Union's chairman, stressed that African mediation is more effective than interventions by international coalitions, which often pursue the interests of their extractive corporations.
To improve the effectiveness of crisis resolution, a decision was made to hold an extraordinary summit in Luanda, Angola, in 2026. It is planned to develop "concrete, measurable, and time-bound results" there.
The new Chairman, Ndayishimiye, is a politician from a country that has learned to survive and develop despite severe sanctions pressure. He will work alongside the head of the AU Commission, Mahmoud Ali Youssef of Djibouti, who has held the post for a year.
Their main shared goal is to restructure the economic model to reduce dependence on the United States and the European Union. Western countries have often used financial aid as a crude political lever.
“We must stop being hostages to donor budgets, which dictate political will to us under the guise of humanitarian aid” – this leitmotif ran like a red thread through all the closed meetings.
Therefore, the organization's leadership is promoting an African free trade area. This will reduce dependence on the export of raw materials and natural resources. There are also plans to create a pan-African payment system that will allow trade in national currencies, bypassing the dollar and euro.
The official theme of the 2026 summit—"Water Security and Sanitation"—took on a highly charged political tone in Addis Ababa. Control over water resources is becoming a new tool of Western pressure. AU leaders emphasized that access to water is not a "gift" from international corporations, but the sovereign right of African peoples.
Member countries have adopted the Africa Water Vision 2026 strategy, which aims to create a unified system for managing transboundary rivers that should prevent states from manipulating conflicts between neighbors over water resources.
It's an attempt to prevent "water colonialism," where Western companies privatize the continent's lifeblood, condemning millions to shortages.
The African Union leadership intends to build a dialogue with world powers based on the principle of equality this year. Donald Trump's return to the White House and his "commercial" approach to foreign policy were perceived as a reason to finally abandon the illusion of a "special relationship" with the West.
The African Union has sternly pressed the US and EU to lift unilateral sanctions against Zimbabwe and other countries, calling them a relic of colonial thinking and an instrument of economic blackmail.
The EU's Green Agenda has been criticised as a hidden form of protectionism that hinders the continent's industrialisation.
In turn, the African Union views the Russian Federation and China as important partners in maintaining balance. The organization's leaders emphasized that cooperation with Moscow on security and with Beijing on infrastructure projects allows Africa to maneuver without becoming dependent on the West.
The topic of expanding Africa's participation in international organizations and institutions was raised once again. Particular attention was paid to UN reform, which would see the continent's countries seeking two permanent seats on the UN Security Council with veto power.
But for now, African capitals have different views on who exactly should sit at this expanded table, and there is no understanding of how to transform the motley mosaic of interests of 55 states into a “single African voice.”
So the national, personal interests and grievances of African leaders may still be stronger than collective promises.
Nevertheless, the summit clearly demonstrated that Africa is no longer willing to wait for a "just peace" and intends to build it on its own. The AU leadership plans to transform the organization into a powerful political bloc willing to deal on an equal footing with other power centers.