Washington, DC - Secretary of State John Kerry and African Union Commission Chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma will deliver opening remarks at the third iteration of their annual High Level Dialogue on Monday, April 13, 2015, in the Department of State’s Benjamin Franklin Room.

The speeches will take place at 10:15 a.m., immediately after their bilateral meeting.

Discussions will follow on the four pillars of our joint Memorandum of Understanding: (1) strengthen democratic institutions; (2) spur economic growth, trade, and investment; (3) advance peace and security; and (4) promote opportunity and development.

Following the Secretary's visit to Addis Ababa last year, the successful 2014 U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit, and building on the success of the U.S.-AUC partnership in fighting Ebola, the two sides will discuss expansion of cooperation on public health, trade, education, governance, and more. These issue-specific agenda items have helped cement the U.S. government’s constructive partnership with the African Union Commission and this year’s High-Level Dialogue will further deepen this unique, multi-faceted relationship with Africa.

The United States is proud to support the African Union’s tremendous vision to establish an African Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to provide a platform for Member States to work together to tackle significant health challenges faced by the African continent, such as Ebola. Secretary Kerry and Chairperson Dlamini Zuma will sign a historic Memorandum of Cooperation, through which the U.S. CDC will provide technical expertise to the African Union to support establishing an African Surveillance and Response Unit and an Emergency Operations Center within the African CDC.