H.E. Prof. Koutoub Moustapha Sano, Secretary General of the Academy, received on Monday 23 Shaban 1442 corresponding to 5 April 2021 at the Secretariat General of the Academy in Jeddah, the Consuls General of the African Union accredited to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The Consuls General were headed by His Excellency Mr. Abdulaziz Branly Oopolo, Dean of the Consuls and Consul General of the Gabonese Republic. His Excellency welcomed the honorable guests who came to greet him on the occasion of his assumption of office as Secretary General of the International Islamic Fiqh Academy.

His Excellency Mr. Abdulaziz Branly, Dean of the Consuls General, delivered a speech on this auspicious occasion in which he expressed – on behalf of himself and his colleagues – their great pleasure and gratitude to see a member of the African Union assume this prestigious scientific responsibility and to be the first non-Arab African to occupy this post since the establishment of the Academy four decades ago. He also expressed his great joy and that of all his fellow consuls general at the remarkable qualitative changes and structural developments that have taken place in the Secretariat General of the Academy since His Excellency took office, stressing in this regard the support of all the African Union’s Consuls accredited to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Jeddah and their full readiness to cooperate and communicate with the Academy in order to help His Excellency succeed in the performance of his duties.

For his part, the Secretary General of the Academy welcomed the Consuls General and thanked them for honoring him with the first visit of its kind to the Academy’s headquarters and for their willingness to strengthen cooperation and communication between the Academy and their countries, pledging to work to make his appointment to this intellectual and scientific position a true honor for the African Union countries. His Excellency took the opportunity to present a general overview of the Academy – its history, vision, mission and objectives – as well as a brief overview of the most significant achievements of the Academy and the areas of its activities and programs that are needed by the countries of the African Union, particularly in the field of promoting tolerance and interfaith dialogue, combating extremist ideologies and terrorism, and addressing the aspirations of Muslim communities in non-OIC countries.

His Excellency expressed his wish to organize one of the future sessions of the Academy in one of the African Union countries. He also expressed the Academy’s willingness to organize specialized seminars and workshops in these countries, as per their generous invitation, in order to address relevant issues and problems, such as combating the takfirist groups that exploit the Islamic religion to justify their heinous crimes against humanity, including bloodshed, transgressions against dignities and destruction of infrastructure. During the event, Some Consuls General took this opportunity to comment and inquire about the activities of the Academy and its strategic plan, announced by His Excellency.

At the end of the ceremony, His Excellency had lunch with the Consuls General, to celebrate their visit and acknowledge their appreciated efforts in strengthening cooperation between the African Union countries and the host country, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The ceremony ended with the Consuls General entering their words in the guestbook.

It should be noted that the number of African Consulates General accredited to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Jeddah is twenty-seven (27) consulates.