Finance Minister, Ahmed Appointed To Head AU Peace Fund Board

The Africa Union (AU) on Thursday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia appointed Minister of Finance, Mrs Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed as chairperson of Board of Trustees of the AU Peace Fund.

In a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the Minister on Media and Communications, Mr Paul Ella Abechi, the minister expressed appreciation and commitment towards achieving the agenda of the Special Fund.

The board has five African members each representing a region and 2 Non African Members (United Nations and European Union) as International partners. The Minister of Finance is  representing the Western African Sub-region in the Board.

The Protocol Relating to the African Union Peace and Security Council (PSC) provides for the establishment of a Special Fund to be known as the Peace Fund with the objective of providing the necessary financial resources for peace support missions and other operational activities relating to peace and security in Africa.

The Peace Fund is an independent international fund for the prevention and management of conflicts, and the promotion of peace in Africa.

It would be recalled that the Board of Trustees was established by the Assembly of the Union in July 2016 to ensure strategic coherence, enhanced governance, and financial and administrative oversight of the Peace Fund.

The Peace Fund will finance three key priorities: mediation and preventive diplomacy activities, institutional capacity requirements, and peace support operations.