The African Union over the weekend commemorated Africa Day with a concerted call to renew a commitment to building a united and prosperous continent.
Saturday’s celebration took place at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, under the theme “Revisiting Our History, Shaping Our Future”.
Addressing the event, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission said Africa is steadily building its peace, prosperity, and integration while commanding a rightful place in the global arena.
Youssouf highlighted Africa’s strategic assets: a youthful and growing population, vast arable land, rich mineral wealth, and abundant renewable energy potential. With its population expected to exceed 2.5 billion by 2050, Africa is not only the continent of the future—it is the engine of global transformation.
“While justice and reparations remain long overdue,” the Chairperson affirmed, “Africa will not be held hostage by the pain of its past.”
He said that international geopolitics is conducted at the expense of Africa and influential global powers do not give proper attention to the ambition of the continent.
“It is our duty as Africans,” he said, “to safeguard our resources and prioritize value addition through transformative initiatives like the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Africa must no longer be an afterthought in global geopolitics.”
Current chairperson of the AU João Goncalves Lourenço emphasised the need for Africa to realise its political freedom, harness its rich resources, and address political fragmentation, internal conflict and youth unemployment among others.
“All Africans especially those who have the responsibility of guiding Africa’s destiny should commit and invest their energy and knowledge to build a united and prosperous Africa,” Lourenço said.
As Africa Day 2025 is marked across the continent and in the Diaspora, the AU calls on all Africans to stand tall in their identity, pursue justice with courage, and to shape the continent’s future with confidence and pride.
MG/as/APA