Mbabane – Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Senator Pholile Dlamini Shakantu officially opened the 13th African Union Humanitarian Symposium yesterday, 27 November 2025, at a first-ever Southern Africa edition hosted by Eswatini. The symposium carries the theme Spotlighting Crisis Hotspots: Triple Nexus Solutions through Inclusion and Solidarity.
The three-day event brings together representatives from AU Member States, AU Organs, Regional Economic Communities, humanitarian and development partners, civil society, academia, and the private sector. Delegates will collaborate on strategies to advance Africa’s humanitarian agenda.
Notable attendees include Ambassador Amma Adomaa Twum-Amoah, AU Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs, and Social Development; Ms Lydie Kouame, Co-Chair of the Humanitarian Coordination Forum and Deputy Director of the WFP AU Global Office; Mr Walter Kasempa, AU-IOM Youth Ambassador; and Ambassador Mahlaba Mamba, Eswatini’s Ambassador to Ethiopia. 
Senator Shakantu welcomed delegates to the Kingdom, noting the importance of dialogue and partnership in addressing humanitarian challenges across Africa.
