27-31 March 2017 – Cairo, Egypt – The Economic, Social & Cultural Council (ECOSOCC) has convened for the 2nd Ordinary Session of the 2nd Permanent General Assembly for a period of five (5) days in Cairo, Egypt. The General Assembly will among other things, provide a platform for the inauguration of new members representing CSOs from all five regions of the continent, a review of the ECOSOCC Strategic Plan, adoption of various legislative instruments including Rules of Procedure for different committees, and the review of the organ’s program activities over since the last General Assembly. The General Assembly will also elect members of the ECOSOCC Bureau and Heads of Cluster Committees. The official opening ceremony was held on Monday 27 October with high-level presentation from the government of Egypt led by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. Other high-level global dignitaries included the Deputy General Secretary of King Abdul-Aziz International Centre for Interfaith and Interreligious Dialogue (KAICIID), His Excellency Ambassador Alvaro Albacete, as well as His Excellency Essam Sharaf, former Prime Minister of Egypt. The General Assembly has drawn participation from 55 Member states of the African Union, the Regional Economic Communities (RECs); and African diaspora organizations. In addition, over 35 representatives from Egyptian civil society organizations attended the opening session. In his remarks during the opening session, Mr. Ahmed El-Basheer A. El-Madani, Acting Director of the Citizens and Diaspora Directorate of the AU Commission (CIDO), which also serves as the Secretariat of ECOSOCC, reiterated the key role that ECOSOCC is positioned to play in the ongoing implementation of the AU Agenda 2063 and encouraged members of the General Assembly to redouble their efforts to partner with the African Union Commission in this regard. Mr. El-Madani also called upon members of the General Assembly to ensure that the scheduled elections are conducted in a free and fair manner in order to upholding democracy, good governance and other democratic principles of which the civil society has always been a strong defender.. “Coming fresh off successful elections of the new African Union Commission’s office-bearers, everyone’s eyes are on us from not only Africa but also the rest of the world”, he said. ECOSOCC General Assembly in Cairo is convening in accordance with Article 9 of the ECOSOCC Statutes, which requires the General Assembly to convene in Ordinary Session once every two years. This is the second Ordinary Session of the current General Assembly following the inaugural Session in 2014 in Nairobi, Kenya in 2014. End ### For more information, please contact: Esther Azaa Yambou Tankou; YambouE@africa-union.org Ernest Kaliza; EKaliza@africa-union.org Sarah Abdel-Mohsen Elsayed; ElsayedS@africa-union.org cido@africa-union.org