The Ethiopian Embassy in Uganda marked Africa Day 2022 Celebration with Uganda Government officials, members of the Diplomatic corps and other invited guests on June 17, 2022 at the Ambassadorial residence. Africa Day is observed annually on May 25 to commemorate the founding of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) created on 25 May 1963.
In her Welcoming remark, H.E. Ambassador Alemtsehay touched on various matters ranging from the historical paths of the then OAU and its successor African Union, the state of Affairs of Africa in general, and Ethiopia in particular.
H.E. Ambassador Alemtsehay underscored that the establishment of the OAU was a new Chapter in African History in laying a solid foundation to bring African countries together to fulfil the aspirations of African peoples and marked a major psychological breakthrough for Africans to unite and work towards for total liberation and decolonization.
On Ethiopian contribution, Ambassador Alemtsehay noted that History vividly shows that Ethiopia stood tall by reconciling the then two ideological blocks and contributed immensely for the formation of #OAU through the wise leadership of the late Emperor Haile Selassie who was the first chair of the Organization. The Ambassador further noted that Ethiopia other than being a seat for the Organization, extended meaningful supports to the young revolutionaries and freedom fighters like Nelson Mandela and Oliver Reginald Tambo in the fight against Apartheid and liberation movement in the continent.
Furthermore, Ambassador Alemtsehay applauded that the founding fathers of the organization were determined in sorting out their ideological differences and charting out common objectives to eradicate all forms of colonialism from Africa and promote the unity and solidarity of the African States.
On the state of Affairs of Ethiopia, the Ambassador revealed that Ethiopia has undergone a series of reforms in socio-economic, political and security sectors per the demands of the people. These reforms are in tandem with defending the sovereignty of the country from the TPLF imposed conflict and its belligerence as well as the Covid 19 pandemic. The Ambassador noted that the Ethiopian government’s commitments to solve the conflict peacefully by supporting the AU-led peace initiatives headed by H.E. Olusegun Obasanjo.
In the concluding remark, the Ambassador reaffirmed Ethiopia’s commitment to African causes, which remain constant and called on Africans to address the challenges, which do not reflect the big stature and potentials of the continent. Furthermore, the Ambassador lauded Uganda for propagating and promoting Pan-African ideals and for its commitment in enhancing the African Union as well as for sharing common positions in regional and multilateral forums.
The Guest of honour, Honorable John Mulimba, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Uganda in charge of Regional Cooperation officiated the celebration in the Embassy. In the remark, Hon. John Mulimba welcomed the efforts by African Union in addressing malnutrition and food insecurity challenges in Africa through building resilience in food and nutrition security, strengthening the agro-food system, the initiative on the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP) under Agenda 2063 & promoting AfCFTA, making Africa the largest common market in the world. Finally, the Honorable Minister reiterated Uganda’s commitment to continue working with African Union and other regional bodies, member states and development partners to promote regional integration at insuring food security on the continent.
The event was celebrated warmly in attendance of High Government Officials of Uganda including the Honorable Guest of Honour and the Rt. Hon. Amama Mbabazi, the former-prime Minister of Uganda and special envoy to the Great Lakes region, Ethiopia and South Sudan among others, Diplomatic Corps, High media personnel, Business Communities, and Ethiopian communities in Uganda.
The event contained tasting of diverse Ethiopian Cuisines, the Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony and a raffle of free Air-tickets sponsored by Ethiopian Airlines and live musical shows. As Africa Day 2022 focuses on celebrating Africa’s indigenous food, and marks 2022 as the year of Nutrition, invited guests tasted Ethiopian diverse cuisines for their uniqueness, diversity and nutritional values.