Press Releases

The 55th Africa Day celebrations took place in Lisbon on 10 May 2018 hosted by the 16 African Ambassadors accredited to Portugal. The main speaker was the Director-General of the Portuguese Foreign Ministry, Ambassador Pedro Sanchez da Costa Pereira with other speakers including the President of PADEMA, Ms Luzia Moniz representing the Portuguese African Diaspora as well as the new Dean of the African Group of Ambassadors, HE Fatiha Selmane from Algeria. The event this year took place in the form of a well-attended luncheon, with over 200 selected guests that attended and enjoyed cuisine form across Africa prepared by the various Embassies. The event also had the beat of Africa with musical performances from Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau, Equatorial Guinea and Mozambique.

Africa Day is traditionally celebrated on 25 May, marking the historic foundation of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) on this date in 1963, now the African Union which brought the Continent together signifying its identity and unity. The theme for 2018 was set as “Winning the fight against Corruption: A Sustainable Path to Africa’s Transformation” with Africa Day presenting a unique opportunity to reflect on progress towards the “AFRICA we want – Agenda 2063”, while celebrating the milestones along the way!