APM makes maiden address to AU
President Peter Mutharika on Friday delivered his maiden address to the African Union (AU) Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, highliting strides Malawi has made to promote and protect lives of girls and women.
In his seven-minute speech, Mutharika, who rose to the presidency after his victory in the May 20 Tripartite Elections, said it is sad that some men in the modern world still torture women, which he described as old fashioned and barbaric.
The President was speaking in reference to the 24th AU Extra Ordinary Summit whose theme was Women Empowerment and Development.
Earlier, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and AU outgoing chairperson President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz of Mauritania thanked Malawi for peaceful elections and conveyed their condolences to families of people who died due to flooding that has left about 200 000 homeless.
Zambia’s newly elected President Edgar Lungu also made his maiden speech to the AU Summit.
Mutharika also took advantage of the summit that ended on Saturday to meet in camera President of Tanzania JakayaKikwete, South Africa’s former president Thabo Mbeki and Joachim Chissano, former president of Mozambique.
