Gayle Smith, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) administrator, will head the U.S. delegation attending the 26th Annual African Union (AU) Summit.
Other attendees include Linda Thomas-Greenfield (Department of State assistant secretary for African Affairs), Don Booth (U.S. special envoy for Sudan and South Sudan), Tom Malinowski (assistant secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor), Linda Etim (USAID assistant administrator for Africa), Cathy Byrne (National Security Council senior director for Africa) and Tom Perriello (special envoy for the Great Lakes Region of Africa).
The purpose of the summit is to bring together representatives of local economic communities, senior government officials, the private sector, civil society organizations, invited dignitaries and international media.
The attendees will discuss security and peace priorities for specific regions, particularly Burundi. Others issues to discuss include producing innovative funding mechanisms that will support peacekeeping projects in the AU. The leaders will also cover how to apply the peace agreement within South Sudan.
After the AU Summit, Smith will spend time in Ethiopia. Currently, the United States is collaborating with international and local partners to assist Ethiopia through its drought. The leaders will discuss ways to establish resilience despite serious weather conditions and events, such as El Nino.
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