President Paul Kagame has challenged African leaders to dedicate themselves toward overcoming challenges that dog the continent’s efforts to develop, saying making the right investments would ultimately yield results.

The President was speaking in a panel discussion on Africa’s development at the 24th African Union Summit that opened in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, yesterday.

In the discussion, President Kagame emphasised the importance of looking beyond resources.

"Countries will always face challenges. We have to think of how to overcome them. It’s not just about resources, it’s about how we apply them to our situation,” he said.

"In order to address our challenges, we need to invest in country systems,” the President said according to a statement from his office.

  African Union Chairperson Dr Dlamini Zuma listed infrastructure, energy, women’s empowerment, and joint efforts for a peaceful continent as key components of the 2063 agenda, which seeks to build an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa.

"Africa has neither the time nor the choice. We must move in one direction and that is forwards. We have to fulfil our mission as Africans,” she said.

"We are the generations that will eradicate poverty, disease and hunger, as we set out to do in our Common African position on post-2015 development. We are the generation that shall manage diversity and silence the guns,” Dr Zuma is quoted in the statement as saying.

President Kagame also attended the launch of the African Union Foundation as well as the Ebola Fund.

Alongside the launch of the fund to address the Ebola epidemic, today’s summit marked the beginning of the African Union Foundation, the body charged with finding alternative sources of funding to ensure the majority of AU’s funding comes from within member states.

The summit discussed peace and security on the continent where United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, reiterated the UN  position on the genocidal force, the FDLR.

"Attaining peace and security in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Great Lakes Region requires joint action, including neutralising FDLR and other armed groups,” he said.

He added: "The signatories of the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework agreement must fully abide by their commitment.”

This year’s annual summit saw the election of President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe as the new African Union chairman.

Also in Addis is First Lady Jeannette Kagame who attended the annual meeting of the Organisation of African First Ladies against HIV/ Aids.