Message of His Excellency Denis Sassou-N'Guesso, President of the Republic of Congo, Chairperson of the African Union, on the occasion of the Celebration of Africa Day

Peoples of Africa,

To be African in the fullest sense of the word is a noble and inspiring feeling, which we should glorify each day and forever.

For this reason, this year, the commemoration of 25 May, Africa Day, is placed under the theme: "Working together for integration and development".

It is therefore under this presage and also under the sign of new certainties and new convictions bearing the stamp of renaissance that we celebrate this glorious day of our Continent's history.

As the embodiment of these new certainties and convictions, the African Union came into being as eloquent proof of the will of African peoples to turn the page: that of the Organization of African Unity. A page in which a vast section of our Continent's history is inscribed in letters of gold, that enlightens us about the heroic and multifaceted liberation struggles of Africa under the yoke of colonization and apartheid, and on the first steps towards the management of modern States.

Today, the context has changed fundamentally, particularly with the coming of globalization and the disappearance of ideological blocs. Having won political idependence and freedom, Africa has resolutely embarked on the quest for its economic freedom.

The recognition of these profound changes which have occurred in the world led the African Union to endow itself with an ambitious development programme: NEPAD, which on the whole, is a reflection of our determination and our readiness to promote in a harmonious manner, the
economic and social development of Africa, and to consolidate, while deriving maximum benefit from them, our cooperation relations with all our partners.

It is to this end that we requested all African Leaders who are chief executives of Regional Economic Communities, to select from the list of projects identified within the NEPAD framework, a structuring and integrating project for each Regional Economic Community
which will be a symbol of our will to translate NEPAD into the concrete reality that the peoples of Africa aspire to. It is therefore our duty, during our term, to seek various forms of assistance from our partners for the effective implementation of these different projects.

At this juncture, I call on the G8 to ensure that Africa and its integration and development projects are taken into account in global concerns.

In this regard, I welcome all the ties established between Africa and its different partners such as the European Union, the United States of America, China, Japan, South Korea, India, the United Nations and its systems as a whole, and many others.

We firmly believe that the efforts we must make, particularly to ensure the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals, which are the pre-occupation of Africa at the highest level, can count on the necessary support and assistance from these different partners to honour the solemn commitments made by the international community at the Millennium Summit.

We commend all the initiatives aimed at seeking and mobilizing innovative funding for development, without which, as we were given the opportunity to observe last year in New York, none of our noble objectives will be attained within the set timeframe.

This is the sense, and also the spirit of the action we have agreed to carry out in order to bring about significant qualitative changes, so that Africa may change, transorm itself and forge a more generous and productive future.

The promotion of women, the problems of the youth, good governance, respect of human rights, democracy, scrupulous management of the State, etc, have taken form in the vast majority of our programmes, thus acting as a stimulus for our development efforts.

Statistics from international financial institutions show positive and encouraging trends on this point. However, we must pursue our efforts so that the favourable growth rates recorded should really reflect not only a general lasting trend but also the well-being of our populations.

The well-being of the population entails good health. We have to take strong, for-reaching actions, mainly to eradicate pandemics such as HIC/AIDS, Malaria, and Tuberculosis which are plaguing Africa today.

We need to actively seek the substantial resources that will enable us to achieve this goal. The aim is to harness massive, predictable, lasting and innovating resources that are within reach.

These means and resources shall come not only from the states themselves, but also from the international community whose commitment to Africa we know.

Peace, above all, is essential for the well-being of the population.

That is why we all must mobilize for peace to become a concrete reality for all African people.
With calm reigning in several hot spots, significant progress has been registered in this respect.

However, we still have to make efforts in very many areas.

Not only do we have to lend support to the peace-building process in post-conflict countries, but we also have to maintain our commitment so that from Somalia to Cote d'Ivoire, from Sudan to Chad, peace and reconstruction can replace war, division and destruction.

Peoples of Africa,

Our common ambition, our common vision should be that Africa may, in peace and unity, together with its partners and the international community, forge ahead to higher heights so that all our States and all our people can live in happiness and progress.

For this to happen, we must disentangle our continent from the yoke of Afro-pessimism, short-lives, narrow-minded nationalism, suicidal selfishness and illusions of prosperity which have caused some of our States to become so individualistic, indifferent and disdainful of any
common endeavour.

If we want to be sure of today, and not to fear tomorrow, Africa must rely on its available means and resources to become another land, an accomplished, mature, responsible
and respected Africa.

That cannot be achieved without full commitment to integration and development. Integration has to be perceived by all not as an infringement of national unity but rather as a dynamic change bearing the inherent elements of unity and intelligence for the future.

That is the task we should constantly strive for so that together, we can build a solid edifice to which we are committed, heart and soul.

Long Live Africa.