Deputy Minister Pimentel: African Union is a platform for continental defense and sovereignty

Published at: 24/05/2024 01:07 PM

This Friday, the 19th World Africa Week was commemorated in Venezuela, an event that seeks to highlight the African struggle and the historical connection with the South American nation.

The activity took place at the Ministry of People's Power for Foreign Affairs and was attended by the vice-ministers for Africa; Asia, the Middle East and Oceania; Multilateral Issues and International Communication; Yuri Pimentel, Tatiana Pugh, Rubén Darío Molina and Mercedes Chacín, respectively; in addition to representatives of the African diplomatic corps accredited to Venezuela, representatives of African-American movements and deputies who are members of the group of parliamentarians friends of Africa; who enjoyed an important cultural and gastronomic exhibition of this continent.

The event began with the words of the ambassador for the Arab Republic of Egypt accredited to Venezuela, Kareem Essam El-Din Amin, who called for reflection on the key achievements achieved by the African Union and the challenges and dynamics that shape the future of that continent; “it is a time to renew commitment to the shared objectives of social and economic prosperity”.

The diplomat thanked the solidarity shown and demonstrated by the Bolivian Government, led by President Nicolás Maduro, while applauding the “courageous step it has taken by having such a large footprint in Africa.”

The Deputy Minister for Africa, Yuri Pimentel, specified that 61 years after the creation of the African Union, “it has become the largest multilateral organization in Africa and the fundamental instrument of political and socio-economic integration of the continent. It is a platform for the defense and sovereignty of the territorial identity of the peoples of Africa who want to live free from all forms of neocolonialism.”

With regard to relations between Venezuela and Africa, he stressed that currently in the Bolivarian nation “there are 213 students from different African countries, who receive academic training through the international scholarship program implemented by the Grand Mariscal Foundation of Ayacucho.”

In this regard, he explained that this program includes undergraduate and postgraduate studies and has been developed since 2006; “it has allowed 3,468 students from other latitudes to graduate, of whom almost 500 are Africans.”

As for the program “Let's Sponsor a School in Africa”, Venezuela has contributed to the training of more than a thousand students from 22 countries of that continent, as well as the refurbishment of educational spaces in various African nations.

In the economic framework, the Deputy Minister noted that “we are making progress in the implementation of commercial exchanges through mixed commissions, business forums and trade fairs.”

“Cooperation between Venezuela and African countries continues to diversify and expand. We support projects with a large part of that continent (...) All of this is based on the policy of rapprochement with Africa designed by Commander Hugo Chávez Frías and which President Nicolás Maduro Moros continues to reinforce as a central element of our Bolivarian Diplomacy of Peace”.

Finally, he reiterated that Venezuela and Africa agree on the need to reform the United Nations system and identify historical injustice against Africa, due to the lack of representation of the continent in the category of permanent members of the Security Council; support for the brotherly Palestinian people in their legitimate struggle against the occupation of Israel; the condemnation of the application of sanctions and illegal unilateral coercive measures as tools of political pressure and the request for the lifting of the economic and commercial blockade imposed on the Republic of Cuba by the United States.

World Africa Week represents a space for integration and peace with the rest of the world's nations. It was created with the purpose of making visible the work carried out by African communities. In addition, to promote the coexistence and culture of this region made up of 55 nations.

MPPRE