On Monday, 24 June 2019, H.E. Amira Elfadil Mohamed Elfadil, Commissioner for Social Affairs and H.E. Ambassador Yuxi Liu, Head of the Mission of the People’s Republic of China to Ethiopia, on behalf of the African Union Commission and the Government of China, signed an Exchange of Letters of Agreement for the construction of the headquarters building of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). The event took place in the Commissioner’s office in the presence of some representatives of the AU and the Government of China.
In December 2015, the Government of China had expressed the willingness to support the strengthening of Africa’s public health system by investing in the construction of Africa CDC headquarters building in Addis Ababa. A series of consultations followed, leading to the signing of this Agreement.
H.E. Elfadil, on behalf of the AUC, thanked the Government of China for offering to construct the building and for their continuous support to the AU. She said the Department of Social Affairs would work with other AU departments and units to ensure speedy processing of all documents and approvals required to commence the project.
The signing of the Exchange of Letters of Agreement is an important step towards actualization of the construction project. It paves the way for the signing of an Agreement on the Economic and Technical Cooperation for the provision of the grant aid for the construction, commencement of the project design, and subsequent laying of the foundation.
