The President left for Ethiopia on Friday morning to attend the 26th
Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union. taking place over two days.
Uhuru Kenyatta left with First Lady Margaret who will attend a conference for the Organization of African First Ladies Against HIV/Aids, on the sidelines of the AU summit.
"I intend to voice Kenya’s position on a number of issues at the continental level during this year's summit," Uhuru said.
On Friday evening, the President will participate in a meeting of the African Union Peace and Security Council which will focus on issues of terrorism in Africa and review developments in South Sudan and Somalia.
"I intend to deliver intervention points on various issues. These include the ICC, peace and security, with a focus on terrorism, countering violent extremism and the questions of Somalia and South Sudan," he said.
Uhuru is expected to participate in the meeting of the Committee of Ten (C10)
on the United Nations reforms and to chair the 24th Summit of the heads of state.
The C10 is an initiative of the African Union to accelerate United Nations reforms, particularly in the Security Council.
The meeting will play an important role in intensifying efforts of promoting the Common African Position on UN reform as enunciated in the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration.
Uhuru will chair the 24th Summit of the Heads of State and Government participating in the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM).
The President, who is the current Chairman of the APRM, will lead deliberations at the summit whose theme is, ‘Revitalizing the APRM to strengthen Governance in Africa.
In addition to holding discussions on the theme, the leaders will consider administrative matters such as the appointment of the Chief Executive Officer of the APRM Secretariat.
At this years’ summit, leaders are expected to appoint the Bureau and Drafting Committee for 2016 and discuss strategic issues such as financing the African Union, governance, elections and constitutionalism.
They will also consider reports and draft decisions of the committees of the union as well as adopt decisions and declarations of the Assembly of the AU.
The summit is themed 'African Year of Human Rights with a particular focus on Women’s Rights'.
The FirstLady has been pushing a vigorous campaign against the spread of HIV/Aids and to conquer stigma and discrimination against people living with the disease through her ‘Beyond Zero’ initiative.
The theme of this years’ OAFLA meeting is ‘Advancing Sustainable Partnerships to end Pediatric Aids and improve Adolescent Sexual reproductive Health and Rights'.
The Beyond Zero campaign is aimed at accelerating implementation of the national plan towards elimination of new HIV infections among children and promoting maternal, newborn and child health in Kenya.
Through the ‘Beyond Zero’ campaign, the First Lady has been able to deliver mobile clinics in 36 counties
Deputy President William Ruto, Interior CS Joseph Nkaissery and
Chief of Defence Forces General Samson Mwathethe were among leaders who saw Uhuru off at the JKIA.
At the airport, Uhuru bade farewell to Nigerian President
Muhammadu Buhari who has been in the country for a
state visit.
Buhari, who is also heading to Addis Ababa for the AU summit, had bilateral talks with Uhuru and
with him in trade and against terror and corruption.