President Mnangagwa yesterday received a special envoy from his Djibouti counterpart, President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh, who has requested support for that country's candidate for the African Union Commission chairmanship.

Djibouti Foreign Affairs Minister Mahmoud Ali Youssef is one of four candidates in the race to succeed the

incumbent, Moussa Faki, who has held the position since 2017.

Speaking after meeting President Mnangagwa at State House in Harare yesterday, Djibouti Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs, Amina Abidi Aden, said the visit was meant to drum up support for her country's candidate.

"I came here to bring the message of the President of the Republic of Djibouti Ismaïl Omar Guelleh to request the support of the President of Zimbabwe for our candidate for African Union Commission chair during the election which will be held in Addis Ababa next year," she said.Ms Aden said President Mnangagwa had assured them of support for Minister Youssof, who has acquired vast experience during his 20 years as Foreign Affairs Minister.

"Djibouti's candidate has the requisite experience to lead the African Union Commission and to implement Agenda 2063 programme of the African Commission and we hope that we will get the support of Zimbabwe," she added. Minister Youssof is one of four candidates vying for the post along with Kenya's Raila Odinga, Somalia's Fawzia Yusuf Adam and Seychelles' former Vice President  Vincent Meriton.

The African Union unanimously agreed in March to grant the Eastern Africa region the right to nominate the next chairperson of the African Union Commission.

This decision marks the culmination of institutional reforms launched in November 2018.The AU Assembly seeks to bolster transparency and meritocracy in the leadership selection process, prioritising equitable regional representation, gender parity, and the recruitment of top talent from across the African continent.