Address by Dr. Jean Ping on the occasion of the commemoration of Africa day

As is the custom every year, today, the 25th of May 2011, we are celebrating Africa Day. This anniversary commemorates the birth of the Organization of African Unity on May 25 1963. Indeed, by this solemn act, our founding fathers, keen to safeguard and consolidate the independence of our countries, hitherto under the yoke of colonization, and in a bid to strengthen solidarity across Africa and see through the task of the total liberation of Africa, did not only lay the foundation of our unity through a common African identity, but also triggered the dynamics of actions and efforts towards integration and sustainable development that our continent is today pursuing.