Key note address by H.E Amb Salah Hamad

At a time when Africa stands at a critical crossroads; between potential and paralysis, vision and implementation, Ambassador Salah Hammad’s keynote address at the Africa Integration Day 2025 webinar was both a reflection and a rallying cry. Speaking on the theme “From Policy to Practice: Evaluating Regional Integration and the Ratification Journey of the Free Movement Protocol in Advancing Agenda 2063,” the AU diplomat laid out both the historic foundation and the unfinished business of continental integration.

H.E Amb Salah Hamad begun his address by thanking the Africans Rising team for inviting the African Union through the African governance Architecture (AGA) and re- affirmed the commitment and support from the Union in supporting initiatives that are geared towards a borderless Africa.

A Tribute to the Visionaries of Africa

Ambassador Salah began with reverence, paying tribute to the founding fathers and mothers of Africa who dared to dream of a united, peaceful, and prosperous continent. Their vision enshrined in the Abuja Treaty of 1991 was clear: establish regional economic communities, harmonize policies, liberalize trade, and create a common market rooted in the free movement of people, goods, and ideas.

Today, over three decades later, he posed a poignant question: “Where are we now with the implementation of this vision?”

The Abuja Treaty: Foundation, but Not Fulfilled

While Regional Economic Communities (RECs) have made considerable progress, Ambassador Salah acknowledged the biggest hurdle remains implementation. Too often, treaties are signed and even ratified, but never domesticated into national law. Citizens, he emphasized, are left unaware of these frameworks and the opportunities they hold. It is not enough for policies to exist on paper. Real integration must be lived and felt by ordinary Africans in their daily movement, trade, and interactions.

The Free Movement Protocol: The Missing Link in Integration

At the heart of his address was the AU Free Movement Protocol (FMP) adopted in 2018 but still awaiting the 15-country ratification threshold to come into force. Salah called it the missing link in Africa’s integration journey.

While the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has gained momentum, its full promise remains stifled if people themselves cannot move.

“You can’t move goods without a driver in the truck,” he joked, underscoring the absurdity of facilitating trade without facilitating human mobility. In his view, free movement is not just an economic necessity, but a cultural and political imperative. It is about enabling Africans to share skills, knowledge, and aspirations across artificial borders.

A Personal Reflection from Malabo

Speaking from Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, Ambassador Salah shared a candid observation: the city, though clean and peaceful, felt eerily empty. At the airport, African travellers faced visa barriers, a stark reminder that the continent’s colonial-era borders are still very much alive.

“Africa’s borders were not drawn by Africans,” he reminded participants. Now, it is up to Africans to dismantle them.

Global Lessons: Migration is Power

He drew lessons from the United States and the European Union; societies that flourished through migration, diversity, and open borders. For Africa to become strong, he argued, migration must be embraced as a tool for development, not feared as a risk.

“Migration will make us stronger, not weaker. Diversity is our advantage.” He added.