RABAT — Morocco has lined up a series of events to celebrate the Africa Day, which this year coincides with the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), now the African Union (AU). The Africa Day is observed annually on May 25 to commemorate the founding, in 1963, of the defunct OAU. Morocco was among the founding members but left the continental grouping in 1983 to protest the membership of Western Sahara. Activities lined up by the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation include the opening of an exhibition of photographs and books on Morocco and Africa at the National Library. The program also includes a conference under the theme “Casablanca 1961-Addis Ababa in 2013, more than 50 years of African Unity: Problems and Perspectives of the Project of the United States of Africa” that will be hosted by former Senegalese Foreign Minister Cheikh Tidiane Gadio. Morocco's Africa policy is fundamentally based on two principles - its identity and its irreversible commitment to the continent's development, a spokesman for the Ministry of Communication told PANA. In view of this, Morocco supported the struggle for independence and liberation of African countries from colonial rule. Morocco has always supported the initiatives of the UN for the restoration of stability in Africa. — Agencies
