Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Burundi
The African continent celebrated Africa Day on Saturday May 25, 2024 with a call of realizing the founding continental aspirations of the African Union (AU). Africa Day is observed annually on May 25 celebrating the achievements of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), created on May 25, 1963 and relayed by the African Union (AU) in 2002. In Bujumbura, the celebration ceremonies of that day were enhanced by the presence of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation His Excellency Ambassador Albert Shingiro.
In their respective speeches, Major General Mathieu Kyali Gonza, Ambassador of Uganda to Burundi and Head of the diplomatic Corps and Mr Sghair M’Bareck Said, High Representative of the African Union for the Great Lakes Region and Head of the Office of Burundi Liaison, they said that the day is commemorated in order to recognize the role of the continental bloc in the fight against the colonialism and the progress made by Africa, while reflecting on the common challenges facing the continent in a global environment.
In his turn, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation His Excellency Ambassador Albert Shingiro, on May 25 of each year, to the day, Africa celebrates with a great pomp, and joy, the Day of Africa, an opportunity for evaluating the steps already taken in the quest of an Africa that we want, the ongoing efforts to achieve that objective and project ourselves into the future guided by the 2063 agenda which is our compass for moving Africa out of poverty and its weaknesses in the concert of the nations.
He praised the sacrifices made by the Founding Fathers of that Continent who paid the valuable bill without being able to see their most ardent Wish come true; namely the Unity of Africa. He paid tribute to all those great men who had understood, a little early, that African Unity is a sine qua none condition for that continent, for its Development and its influence in the concert of the Nations including S.E Kwameh Nkrumah, S.E Sekou Toure, S.E Julius Nyerere, S.E Modibo Keita, S.E Patrice Lumumba,S.E Agostinho Neto, and S.E Mouhamar Gaddafi deserve to be duly honored in their memory. Likewise, the new generations must be inspired by their thoughts, their actions, their fight, their courage, their tenacity and their resistance which resonate with their fervor and which remain relevant even today.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation His Excellency Ambassador Albert Shingiro also reminded the objectives which appear in certain fundamental texts governing the African countries including: strengthening the unity and solidarity of African countries, coordinating and intensifying their cooperation and their efforts in order to provide the better living conditions for the African peoples, defend their sovereignty, the territorial integrity and the independence, eliminate colonialism in all its forms and manifestations in Africa and promote mutually the beneficial international cooperation.
However, the challenges remain immense. Peace and security, the foundations of any development enterprise, are threatened in several regions of the continent because we are increasingly witnessing an unprecedented development of the proxy wars, the armed groups and the terrorist movements against a backdrop of tensions of all kinds which seriously threaten the people and the very existence of the State in certain countries as well as the major climate change the phenomena which are putting the populations into disarray, that it is the high time of seizing the Bouncing Ball for in order to return the States to their commitments during “Major Climatic Meetings”.
He finally stressed that Africa must unite in playing its rightful role in international affairs, deserving its place on the table where the major decisions are made, to be respected, for its social economic development, for safeguarding its inherent values and facing the socio-economic challenges and the paradoxes of the contemporary world.