Kinshasa, July 17th, 2021 (CPA).- The President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and current President of the African Union, Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, took part on Friday in Accra, capital of the Republic of Ghana, in a African ceremony in honor of the former President of Niger and champion of the African Continental Free Trade Area (ZLECAF), Issoufou Mahamadou, the CPA learned from a source at the Presidency.
The current President of the African Union, Félix Tshisekedi,
Welcomed, in his special address to the Secretariat building of the ZLECAF, the opportunity offered to him to meet alongside his African peers and members of the governments of the continent, including the former Nigerien President Mahamadou Issoufu, the Ghanaian Nana Akufo Ado, the Burkinabé Kaboré, the Togolese Faure Gnassigbé and the brand new Nigerien president Baazoum.
“Far from being anonymous, our presence here in Accra undoubtedly resembles the fulfillment of a prophecy, that of the unity and integration of Africa advocated by the first President of Ghana, Nkuame Nkrumah, in his famous phrase pronounced on the occasion of the inaugural session of the organization of the African Union, on May 24, 1963 in Addis Ababa « : » We have the obligation to unite or to disappear « «, he said, before thanking
Félix Tshisekedi said he was pleased to see that what yesterday seemed impossible is gradually materializing. According to him, Africa is strengthening itself more, tightening its links and the States which compose it find today more than ever their salvation in this union and a will to live together.
The AU President continued his remarks by considering the ZLECAF as « a symbol of our unity and of our common will to make this continent a profitable market for all, engine of our common development ».
To conclude, the Head of State underlined that “ZLECAF is not an end in itself. Rather, it is a vehicle that we have equipped ourselves with to stimulate intra-African trade and the industrialization of the continent which still needs to be optimized,”added the Congolese Head of State, inviting his peers. to take up together the challenge of who stands before them in order to complete the process of operationalization of the ZLECAF.
To the Honorary President of Niger, Issoufou Mahamadou, Félix Tshisekedi asked to inspire the current leaders of the spirit which characterized him in the effective materialization of the ZLECAF which was only yesterday an unattainable dream.
The ceremony ended with the unveiling of the bust dedicated to Issoufou Mahamadou by the secretary general of ZLECAF, Wamkele Mene.
Since the DRC’s accession to the presidency of the AU for the 2021-2022 fiscal years, President Félix Tshisekedi has made regional integration the leitmotif of his mandate at the head of the continent, it is recalled.ACP/