This essay aims at identifying Macky Sall, Senegal's president and Abiy Ahmed, Ethiopia's prime minister's perception of African Unions role in the world. The organization is emerging and is taking an increasingly active role within the international community. This study aims to understand this further. This essay aims to answer the essay's question which reads: What role is sought in the international arena according to Macky Sall and Abiy Ahmed? A role in the international arena is a product of both expectations from external actors, but also a result of internal role perceptions. This study focused on studying internal role perceptions. Role perception refers to the image an actor provides of who it is and who it wants to be in relation to others. This has been studied using a content analysis of several speeches by Macky Sall and Abiy Ahmed to in turn identify roles. According to Holsti (1970), role perceptions can be identified by examining the decision maker's own definitions of the decisions, agreements and actions that are considered appropriate and that should be taken within the international system (pp. 243-245).