The Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Ato Dina Mufti has announced that Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn is to take over the chairmanship of AU, reports AFP.

Prime Minister Hailemariam will be replacing the outgoing chair, Benin president Boni Yayi as the head of the pan-African bloc. He must be officially voted in by member states at the opening of this month's African Union heads of state summit, which runs from January 27 to January 28.

According to Mr Dina, the decision that Ethiopia would hold the organization’s top job this year was taken two years ago, when it would have been expected that the late prime minister Meles Zenawi would have assumed the role.

A new chairperson is elected every January at the annual summit and is awarded on a regional basis.

Before current chairman Boni Yayi took on the role, the chairmanship has been successively occupied by northern, southern and central Africa.

The last time East Africa chaired the AU was in 2008 when Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete served as head of the bloc.

Ato Dina said the appointment is especially important for Ethiopia, which hosts the headquarters of the AU and is a founding member nation of the AU's predecessor, the Organisation for African Unity (OAU).

"Taking over chairmanship of the African Union will give an opportunity for Ethiopia to work hard for the strengthening of the organisation," he said.

It is the first time the country has occupied the seat since the founding of the AU in 2003, though previous Ethiopian leaders, including late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, served as chair of the OAU.