Africa Day is annually observed across the continent of Africa on 25th May to commemorate the founding of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). OAU was created on 25th May 1963 and was transformed and remodelled into the African Union(AU) on 9 July 2002.
The year 2022 marks the 20th anniversary of the African Union, which was launched in South Africa.
- The theme of Africa Day 2022 is “Strengthening Resilience in Nutrition and Food Security on the African Continent”.
2022 – Year of Nutrition:
The African Union has designated 2022 as the Year of Nutrition.
The theme of the 2022 – Year of Nutrition is “Rationale for Nutrition”.
Significance:
i.The year 2022 is dedicated to building resilience in food and nutrition security on the continent of Africa.
ii.Strengthening Agri-food systems and health and social production systems to accelerate socio-economic and human capital development
African World Heritage Day 2022- May 5th
i.African World Heritage Day is annually observed across the globe on 5th May to offer an opportunity for the people across the globe to celebrate the unique cultural and natural heritage of Africa.
ii.The day is celebrated by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in collaboration with the African World Heritage Fund (AWHF) and its partners.
Background:
In November 2015, the 38th session of the General Conference of UNESCO proclaimed the 5th May of every year as the African World Heritage Day.
Key Points:
i.The African properties on the UNESCO’s World Heritage list account for around 12% of all the inscribed sites across the globe.
ii.Around 39% of these properties are on the World Heritage List in Danger.
MEA: India’s cumulative investments in Africa stand at USD 70 billion
According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA)’s statement issued on the occasion of Africa Day, the cumulative investments of India in Africa stand at USD 70 billion.
- India has also provided extended Lines of Credit(LoC) worth USD 12.26 billion to various African countries. This makes Africa the 2nd largest recipient of India’s concessional loans.
- Under these LoCs, around 193 projects have been completed and around 66 projects are under execution. Around 88 projects in various sectors are in the pre-execution stage.
Additional info:
i.India is the 4th largest partner for Africa, on the trade and economic front, registering around USD 69.7 billion in trade during 2018-2019 and the 5th largest investor in Africa with cumulative investments of USD 70.7 billion.
ii.India invests in sectors like oil and gas, mining, banking, pharma, textiles, automotive and agriculture.
iii.India’s Duty-Free Tariff Preference (DFTP) scheme has benefitted around 38 countries in Africa. The scheme provides duty-free access to 98.2% of India’s total tariff lines.
About African Union:
Headquarters– Ababa, Ethiopia
African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson– H.E. Moussa Faki Mahamat
