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Ethiopia Suggests to Make Amharic One of Official Languages of African Union

13:58, 15 February 2024

Rasina Musallimova

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From February 14-15, Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, hosts the 44th ordinary session of the African Union. The event is held in preparation for the 37th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the African Union, scheduled for February 17 and 18.

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Ethiopia suggests to make Amharic one of the official languages of the African Union, the country's Foreign Minister Taye Atske Selassie said at the opening ceremony of the 44th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council of the African Union.

"In alignment with AU Agenda 2063 and the goal for empowering indigenous African languages to contribute to our continent's progress, I wish to propose the inclusion of Amharic as the official language of the African Union," the top diplomat noted.

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This step will strengthen the common identity of Africans, the minister noted.

Currently, Arabic, English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Kiswahili and "any other African language" are considered to be the AU official languages.

Amharic is one of the most widely spoken languages in Ethiopia and one of the languages to use the unique and ancient Geʽez script, which originated in the country.