Egypt will succeed Rwanda as head of the African Union during a two-day summit Sunday in Addis Ababa.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame, who led an active, reformist tenure as AU chair, will pass the baton to Egypt, seen as more likely to focus on security issues than expanding the powers of the body.
Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi will officially take over the post of ceremonial head of the AU which rotates between the five regions of the continent.
While multiple crises on the continent will be on the agenda of heads of state from the 55 member nations, the summit will also focus on institutional reforms, and the establishment of a continent-wide free trade zone.
Sisi is however expected to focus more on security, peacekeeping and post-war reconstruction, issues closely tied to the AU's 2019 theme of "Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons".
"Egypt has an interest in Africa, they want to strengthen their position on the African continent and they don't want to be seen as a country only focused on the Arab world," said Liesl Louw-Vaudran, an analyst at the Institute for Security Studies, according to the AFP.