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The Ethiopian News Agency
25 May, 2007
Addis Ababa, May 25, 2007 (Addis Ababa) - A cornerstone was laid here on Friday to construct a new African Union Convention Complex at the adjacent of African Union headquarters.
The corner stone was laid during an event held here in the capital marking Africa Day.
China pledged to construct the complex at the recent Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) with a view to supporting the process of African integration and strengthen China-Africa relations.
Speaking on the occasion, chairperson of the AU Commission, Alpha Oumar Konare said the complex will be a symbol of great partnership between the peoples of Africa and China.
He said this China-Africa partnership should help Africa strengthen its relation with other countries.
Ghanaian President John Agyekum Kufuor on his part said " I speak for the African Union and all Africa in appreciation of China's gesture in offering us this facility as promised during the Africa-China Forum in Beijing last year."
China’s Assistant minister of commerce, Wang Chao on his part said the Chinese government always attaches great importance to its ties and cooperation with African countries.
He said his country is willing and ready to develop a new type of strategic partnership with African countries featuring political equality, mutual trust, win-win economic cooperation and cultural interaction
The Assistant Minister said the Chinese government gives high priority to this project, which symbolizes the new China-Africa strategic partnership.
He said the Chinese government would, as always, support the unity and self-development and integrity process of African countries.
The Complex would be laid on 11.3 hectares of land, which the Ethiopian government has granted for free.
Proposed designs for the complex were presented at the occasion.
As part of the commemoration of African Day, the African Union has launched a new diplomatic and service passports and AU Commission's Very Small Aperture Terminal (V-SAT).
The new passports, which are made with the state of the art technology, are believed to facilitate free movement of persons, goods and services for nationals of regional blocs.
The machine-readable passports are believed to enhance political, social, cultural and development activities in the continent.
The modernized telephone system, VSAT, ensures connectivity between the headquarters and regional offices and significantly reduces the cost.
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