Sudanese Embassy will be the host for this year's Africa Day celebration here, Tuesday. Africa Day 2010 theme is “Peace and Security in Africa”, said Mohammed Safwat, Counselor at the Egyptian Embassy in Riyadh, the co-host of the annual event celebrated in commemoration of the 1963 founding of the Organization of African Unity (OAU). Africa Day is celebrated around the world on May 25. Safwat said about 500 invited guests, mostly ambassadors from the African countries in Riyadh, high-ranking Saudi officials, diplomats and representatives from the African expatriate community living in the Kingdom will attend the Africa Day reception at the Sudanese Embassy, he said. The Africa Day celebration is rotated between the African embassies in Riyadh, he said. This year Sudanese Embassy will host the reception while Egyptian Embassy was entrusted with the task of media relations, he said. He said a press conference will be held at the Egyptian Embassy on Monday with about 25 ambassadors from various African embassies available to answer any questions on political, social or economic activities in the Africa continent. “Because of the space constraints this year's Africa Day celebration is restricted only to culinary preparations from different African countries participating in the event,” he said. Earlier, the Africa Day in Riyadh was celebrated with exhibition and a number of cultural activities. The participating embassies used to display their countries' products and about 3,000 people from all walks of life attended the function, he said. The event will be an occasion to highlight the bilateral and multilateral relations between different African countries and Saudi Arabia, he said. “It will be an occasion to expose the African continent's lucrative investment opportunities available for Saudi investors,” he said. On Africa Day, leaders of 30 of the 32 independent African states signed a founding charter in Addis Ababa. Ethiopia. In 1991, the OAU established the African Economic Community (AEC), and in 2002 the OAU established its own successor, the African Union (AU or UA). However, the name and date of Africa Day has been retained as a celebration of African unity. It is an opportunity to celebrate African diversity and success, and join Africans around the world in highlighting the cultural and social energy of the continent.
