The Eighth Mid-Year Coordination Meeting convened in El-Alamein on 4 October 2026 with one operational question on the table: how to convert the African Union’s agreed frameworks, programmes and legal instruments into projects that actually function on the ground. Hosted by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi of Egypt, the session brought together the African Union, the Regional Economic Communities and the Regional Mechanisms to take stock of what the continent’s integration agenda has delivered, and what still stands between commitment and execution.
The gathering convened Heads of State and Government, the leadership of the African Union Commission, chairpersons and representatives of the RECs and RMs, and senior figures from AU institutions and partners. Its stated purpose was to advance continental integration and the implementation of Agenda 2063, The Africa We Want.
Additional reference context is available at https://au.int/en/pressreleases/20261004/8th-au-mycm-reaffirms-commitment-continental-integration-and-agenda-2063.
President El-Sisi, in his opening remarks, argued that coordination among the AU, the RECs and the RMs must translate shared aspirations into concrete, implementable projects delivering tangible benefits to African peoples, replacing fragmented efforts with greater integration. He pointed to New Alamein itself as an example of transformation through development, investment, innovation and sustainable urban development. On the preconditions for delivery, he highlighted peace, sovereignty, territorial integrity, good-neighbourly relations, dialogue and respect for international law in addressing differences, including those concerning borders and shared natural resources. He also called for Africa to move beyond its traditional role as a supplier of raw materials by strengthening manufacturing, developing integrated value chains, adding value to resources within the continent, promoting technology transfer and expanding intra-African trade, with the private sector, investors and financial institutions playing a central role.
The African Union Commission’s Chairperson, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, positioned the MYCM as the principal platform for strengthening cooperation, coordination and policy coherence between the AU, the RECs and the RMs. In a rapidly evolving geopolitical environment, he said, Africa needs deeper collective reflection, stronger institutional coordination and greater capacity to respond to challenges affecting peace, security, stability and socio-economic development. His message on execution was blunt: “Africa’s integration agenda must move decisively from aspiration to implementation.” He pressed for a clear and effective division of labour among the AU, RECs and RMs, grounded in subsidiarity, complementarity and comparative advantage, while avoiding duplication and ensuring coherence in implementing continental priorities.
President Évariste Ndayishimiye, Chairperson of the African Union and President of the Republic of Burundi, thanked President El-Sisi and the Government and people of Egypt for organising the meeting. His diagnosis of the delivery gap was specific: inadequate productive capacity, infrastructure deficits, insufficient financing, challenges related to shared water resources, insecurity and conflicts. A continental free-trade area alone, he stressed, would not be sufficient. Africa must produce, transform and add value to its resources within the continent. He called for stronger productive and manufacturing capacity, increased investment, technology transfer, improved infrastructure and greater intra-African trade, with interconnected roads, railways, energy networks, ports and digital infrastructure needed to move people, goods and services and unlock the full potential of the AfCFTA.
Meanwhile, the meeting’s outcomes tracked those operational concerns. Participants reaffirmed that accelerated integration remains central to Agenda 2063 and its Second Ten-Year Implementation Plan, and called for faster implementation of agreed continental and regional frameworks, programmes and legal instruments. Particular weight fell on the African Continental Free Trade Area as a driver of economic integration: the meeting welcomed progress on preferential trade arrangements but demanded further work to remove unjustified and unnecessary non-tariff barriers, improve trade facilitation, strengthen cross-border payment systems and promote regional value chains. African enterprises, including small and medium-sized enterprises, were encouraged to invest more in innovation, production and value addition.
Infrastructure and connectivity received their own reaffirmation as essential foundations, with calls for accelerated investment in cross-border infrastructure and transport corridors, operationalisation of the Single African Air Transport Market, and strengthened digital connectivity and inclusion. On water and sanitation, the meeting emphasised sustainable water availability, safe sanitation and hygiene services, supported by strengthened governance, accountability and monitoring systems, climate-resilient water resources planning, integrated water resources management and transboundary cooperation, with particular attention to women, youth, schools and vulnerable communities.
Peace and security were framed as indispensable to delivery, with the Regional Mechanisms’ role in the continental peace and security architecture reaffirmed and closer coordination with AU peace and security institutions called for, alongside preventive diplomacy, conflict prevention, early warning and early action. On financing, the meeting recognised the critical role of the African Development Bank and other African financial institutions in mobilising resources for Agenda 2063, the AfCFTA, regional infrastructure, industrialisation and integration, and encouraged Member States to advance, per their constitutional and legal procedures, ratification of the legal instruments establishing the African Financial Institutions.
The meeting also reviewed the division of labour among the AU, RECs/RMs and Member States, reaffirming subsidiarity, complementarity and comparative advantage, and requested the African Union Commission to finalise the relevant guidelines and report progress to the Ninth MYCM. It welcomed the UN General Assembly’s adoption of Resolution A/80/L.104, “Correct the map: rebalancing global cartographic representation and promoting equitable representation of the world’s regions, particularly Africa,” as a contribution to correcting historical distortions.
The meeting adopted its Declaration reaffirming collective commitment to integration, institutional coordination, sustainable development, peace and prosperity. It concluded with renewed determination to turn shared aspirations into concrete action and measurable results, on the understanding that effective coordination among the AU, RECs, RMs and Member States is what will determine whether Agenda 2063 is actually built. Whether the guidelines requested of the Commission arrive in time for the Ninth MYCM will be the first measurable test.