The photo taken on Feb. 18, 2023 shows the 36th Ordinary Session of the African Union (AU) Assembly which kicked off Saturday in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. (Xinhua/Wang Ping)

ADDIS ABABA, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Comorian President Azali Assoumani on Saturday took over the rotating African Union (AU) chairmanship at the opening of the 36th Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly.

Assoumani replaces the outgoing chairman, also Senegalese President Macky Sall. In his acceptance speech, the Comorian president emphasized the need to exert concerted efforts toward the betterment of Africa and its people.

Noting the ongoing continental and global uncertainties, Assoumani called for concerted efforts to enable Africa's recovery in the post-COVID-19 economy and to better enable the continent to face the negative impacts of the crisis in Ukraine. "While our countries were barely emerging from the most serious health crisis the world has ever known, COVID-19, they are bearing the brunt of the consequences of this new Russian-Ukrainian crisis," the Comorian president said.

This year's AU summit from Feb. 18 to 19 under the theme of "The Year of AfCFTA: Acceleration of the African Continental Free Trade Area Implementation," has brought together African leaders, UN officials, and leaders of various international organizations at the AU headquarters in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa.