Credit: / twitter.com/AUC_MoussaFaki /  Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat, received the credentials of H.E. Jessica Lapenn, incoming Ambassador of the U.S Mission to the African Union at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa Oct. 14, 2019

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The Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat, received the credentials of H.E. Jessica Lapenn, incoming Ambassador of the U.S Mission to the African Union at the AU Commission Headquarters in Addis Ababa this week.  The Chairperson and Ambassador Lapenn exchanged views on the peace and security challenges on the Continent, and the need to rethink and adapt current approaches to international peacekeeping mission in the fight against violent extremism and terrorism in order to better respond to the multidimensional nature of the terrorism threat in Africa.

I received the credentials of the new Ambassador of the United States of America accredited to the AU @US_AU, HE Jessica Lapenn today. pic.twitter.com/06yJ85dv1a

— Moussa Faki Mahamat (@AUC_MoussaFaki) October 14, 2019

The Chairperson also expressed appreciation for the support to the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) and encouraged the USA to deepen US private sector investment in Africa.

The two officials also discussed the issues pertaining to the Global Health Security agenda, and the Chairperson commended the US support to the African Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), the specialised AU agency mandated to support Member States to prevent, detect and respond to public health threats on the Continent. The Africa CDC is currently supporting the Ebola outbreak response in the Democratic Republic of the Congo alongside other partners. 

Lapenn, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor, has served as the Chargé d’Affaires, U.S. Embassy Pretoria, South Africa since 2016.  Previously, Lapenn was the Executive Assistant and Chief of Staff to the Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Human Rights and Democracy in the State Department, 2014 – 2016.  In other overseas leadership positions Lapenn was the Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy Kigali, Rwanda from 2012 – 2014, and in Washington, she led the Office for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs in the Bureau of International Organizations from 2010 – 2012.   She also served earlier in her career as the Political Advisor to the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 2003 – 2006. Lapenn earned a B.A. from Harvard College, Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1993 and an M.Phil from Cambridge University, Cambridge, United Kingdom in 1994.   She is the recipient of multiple State Department Awards including two individual Superior Honor Awards.  She has studied French and Arabic.