New AU chair DRC's President Felix Tshisekedi sets ambitious agenda for 2021.

Addressing a virtual gathering of fellow heads of state and government at the two-day summit, President Tshisekedi said his priorities would be tackling the COVID-19 pandemic, accelerating the operationalization of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and fostering peace and security on the continent.

Combating climate change, expediting regional integration, investing in human capital, promoting Africa's culture and empowering women and youth will also get his attention.

The theme for this year's summit and the rest of 2021 is Arts, Culture and Heritage: Levers for Building the Africa We Want.

President Tshisekedi stressed that 'Arts, culture and heritage constitute the basis for African renaissance' and afford an opportunity to 'look back at our roots.'

President Felix Tshisekedi's 9 priorities as Chair of the AU

Silencing the Guns in Africa.

Implementation AfCFTA and the African Commodities Strategy.

Construction of Grand Inga hydropower project.

Fight against COVID-19.

Development of Africa's human capital.

Promotion of Africa's cultural heritage.

Promotion of zero tolerance for gender-based violence, gender parity in the AU and in member states.

Lay the groundwork for the African Humanitarian Agency, advocate on behalf of migrants, refugees and internally displaced persons.

Fight climate change.

He added: 'Culture is the beginning and the end of everything; it covers every aspect of human life.'

President Tshisekedi took over from President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa as AU Chair.

Before handing over the reins of the rotating chairmanship of the AU, President Ramaphosa remarked that Africa, like the rest of the world, was confronting a pandemic that is exacerbating inequalities and threatening the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Africa's recovery requires debt relief, new funding and debt deferment, Mr. Ramaphosa said, and called for 'an injection of fresh resources by the IMF through reallocating and issuing new special drawing rights, with a bias towards the developing world.'

The South African leader said that was necessary to 'correct glaring inequalities in fiscal stimulus measures between advanced economies and the rest of the world.'

He highlighted several mechanisms that can help Africa succeed in its development aspirations, among which are the AfCFTA, which will help drive trade, investment and job creation, and enable a stronger and faster recovery.

Mr. Moussa Faki Mahamat's second...