African embassies to observe Africa Day

JAKARTA: The embassies of African countries in Indonesia will celebrate Africa Day on Wednesday in Jakarta, the Embassy of Mozambique announced.

"All the Ambassadors and heads of African diplomatic missions in Indonesia will jointly celebrate Africa Day on May 25 in Jakarta. We have invited our Indonesian friends to attend the celebrations," Mozambique Ambassador Geraldo Antonio Chirinza, who is also the dean of African diplomats and the main organizer of the event, told The Jakarta Post.

According to Nigerian Ambassador Moh. Buba Ahmed, whose country is the present chair of the 53-member African Union (AU), African nations had decided in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 1963 to commemorate every May 25 as Africa Day.

On May 25, 1963, the constitution of the then Organization for African Unity (AU's predecessor) was adopted and became effective.

As in previous years, this year's Africa Day will have the theme. This year's theme is "An Efficient and Effective African Union of a new Africa."

Only 10 countries -- Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan, Tunisia and Zimbabwe -- maintain diplomatic missions in Indonesia.

Morocco is not a member of the African Union.-- JP