The 16th African Union Summit will kick start this Monday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
According to a statement issued by the AU, the Summit will be held under the theme "Towards Greater Unity and Integration through Shared Values".
According to the programme of the summit, the 21st Session of the Permanent Representatives Committee (PRC) will be held on 24 and 25 January 2011, while the 18th Session of the Executive Council will be conducted on 27 and 28 January 2011.
The 16th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the AU will be held on 30 and 31 January 2011, the statement noted.
The 21st Session of the PRC and the 18th Session of Executive Council will take place at the AU Headquarters, while the Assembly of Heads of State and Government will be held at the Conference Centre of United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNCC - ECA), the statement added.
The AU statutory meetings and parallel events will include the meeting of the African Peer Review mechanism to be held between 26 and 29 January 2011. The 18th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council will be held on 27 and 28 January 2011.
The meeting of the organization of the African First Ladies Against HIV/AIDS (OAFLA) will be held on 31 January.
As usual, several African leaders are expected to attend. Other than the main summit theme, analysts have it that the issue of Ivory Coast may dominate the continental gathering.