During the three-day summit to be held on July 10-12, the participants will discuss the issues, such as the election of a new leader of the AU Commission, the formation of the AU Peace and Security Council, the current situation in Liberia as well as the issues of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

These problems are considered not only for those countries concerned alone but also for the whole Africa.

Thus the AU, after one year of transformation from the 39-year-old Organization of African Unity (OAU), has shouldered up the responsibility to maintain peace in Africa and become a fresh impetus for the continent's development.

Last July, the AU held its first summit in Durban, South Africa, which has seemingly brought a fresh way of doing things for the African continent.

Just as South African President Thabo Mbeki, also current chairman of the AU, noted at the end of the summit, the people of Africa have pinned their deep hope on the AU and the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), which they believed could promote the economic development on the continent.

The transformation from the OAU to the AU was an important process in light of the need for a continental structure better suited to the challenges of the 21st century and globalization, and better geared to the goal of realization of Africa's real union and renaissance.

The idea of union on the continent could date back 40 years ago when Africa's founding fathers and visionaries such as Ghana's Kwame Nkrumah and Julius Nyerere of Tanzania expressed their such aspirations.

After achieving full political independence and ending apartheid -- the goals for which the OAU was formed in 1963, Africa needed to transform institutionally to better place itself for the new challenges of economic emancipation.

This, as envisaged by Nyerere and others, can only be achieved through a united Africa.

Within 30 years of its formation, the OAU confounded its critics, totally ending colonialism across the continent and helping to abolish apartheid in South Africa.

With the continent enjoying political independence, it had become imperative that a new institutional framework be put in place, and the AU came into being.

Mbeki, the first chair of the AU, expressed the views of many when he said the OAU had laid the foundation for the AU.

In his speech to inaugurate the AU in Durban, Mbeki said "by forming the union, the peoples of our continent have made the unequivocal statement that Africa must unite! We as Africans have a common and a shared destiny! Together, we must redefine this destiny for a better life for all the people of this continent."

It is true that Africa is today faced by a myriad of challenges ranging from low economic growth and high poverty levels, to preventable diseases and conflicts.

However, the AU has renewed hopes that the body will steer the continent to greater economic and social development. Africa will surely move forward toward a better future with the AU.

(Xinhua News Agency July 1, 2003)