Part of: GS Prelims and GS -II – International Relations
In news
The African Union suspended Mali’s membership in response to the military coup and it threatened Mali with sanctions if a civilian-led government was not restored.
West African regional bloc Economic Community of West African States ECOWAS had also suspended Mali.
About Mali
Mali is a landlocked country in West Africa. Capital: Bamako.
About African Union
It is a continental union consisting of 55 countries of Africa.
In 2017, the AU admitted Morocco as a member state.
The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya in 1999.
It was founded in 2001 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
It was launched in 2002 in Durban, South Africa.
The AU’s secretariat, the African Union Commission, is based in Addis Ababa
India and AU
India is a member of the AU Partners Group (AUPG), which meets periodically in Addis Ababa.
India-Africa Forum Summit was the first ever India-Africa Forum Summit, participated by the Leaders of 14 African countries and the African Union Commission.
It represented a turning point in the India- AU relations.
The Summit adopted the Delhi Declaration and the Africa-India Framework for Cooperation, which constituted the blueprint for cooperation between India and Africa in the 21st century.
