ADDIS ABABA, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat on Thursday reiterated the need to adopt robust efforts to fight corruption, which he described as the scourge on the continent.

Mahamat made the remarks at the opening of the 32nd Ordinary Session of the AU Executive Council under the framework of the 30th AU Summit, in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia.

The two-day meeting, attended by ministers of the 55 AU members as well as AU officials, will be followed by the Assembly of the Heads of State and Government on Jan. 28 and 29.

The chairperson also reiterated the need to address illicit financial flow, which he said accompanies corruption to deprive the continent of tens of billions of dollars.

Many African countries are working toward their goals of achieving middle-income status by the next decade, which are unlikely to be realized unless corruption is aggressively and swiftly addressed, said Vera Songwe, Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), at the opening.

Corruption has debilitating effects on economic growth, investments, poverty reduction, state capacity and public trust and confidence in governance, said Songwe.

The AU estimated that every year over 148 billion U.S. dollars, which represent about 25 percent of Africa's average GDP, are drained out of the continent through corrupt activities, she said.

"For a continent that desperately requires substantial resources to meet its extensive development needs, including in filling its huge infrastructure gap, such a significant amount of financial resources leakage through illicit flows and various forms of corrupt activities is definitely something that needs to be fought with every energy that can be mustered," she emphasized.

During the council meeting, African ministers will convene to deliberate on their agendas which include consideration of the report of the Permanent Representatives' Committee of AU, the Annual report of the chairperson of the AU commission for the period from January to December 2017.

They are also scheduled to consider the report on the implementation of the assembly declarations related to Single African Air Transport Market, Agenda 2063, the African candidature in the international system and the International Criminal Court (ICC).

According to the AU, high moments during the Executive Council meeting will feature the election and appointment of the ten members of the AU Peace and Security Council, a member of the Advisory Board on Corruption and two members of the Pan-African University Council.