Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, January 31, 2012, ZANIS--The 18th African Union (AU) summit in Addis Ababa closed with a call for the leaders of Africa to translate words into Action to ensure a peaceful and prosperous continent.
New AU Chairperson who is also the President of Benin Yayi Boni urged his counterparts across Africa to act more and talk less in order to bring peace to the many hotspots of Africa.
Closing the AU summit at the new Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Mr. Boni said peace was key to the development of the continent.
"We need to ensure a peaceful Africa in a peaceful world," Mr. Boni said.
The summit yesterday failed to close on time as scheduled and only finished in the early hours of today, subjecting participants to long hours of waiting.
Mr. Boni cited the popular uprising in Egypt, the crisis in Libya, the Durfur, Somali and Nigeria as some challenges the continental body should address.
He said the continent should act quickly to address the problems now threatening to put development in reverse gear.