Atlanta — The African Union Chairperson, Dr. Jean Ping, visits Atlanta, Georgia, at the invitation of the Africa Heritage Foundation. The visit is an important milestone for the Africa Diaspora community, a foundation step for Atlanta to tap into opportunities in Africa and the continent’s potentials.
The Chairperson of the African Union Commission began his second official visit to the United States with a two-day visit to Atlanta, Georgia, from 16-18 April 2011. He was accompanied by a high level delegation, including his Chief of Staff, the AU Ambassador to the US and the Director of the AU’s Diaspora Programme, amongst others. The visit, which was arranged and coordinated by the Africa Heritage Foundation under the Leadership of Chief Tunde Adetunji, represented an important milestone in the history of the AU’s Diaspora Initiative and its relations with the State of Georgia in general and the city of Atlanta in particular.
The visit commenced on Saturday, 17 April 2011 with a visit to the Martin Luther King Centre where Dr. Ping was received by the CEO, Martin Luther King III. Mr. King observed that he saw the visit as a memorial to his father, the late Martin Luther King Jn. and the vision of freedom, liberty and social justice that his father espoused. The Chairperson of the African Union Commission concurred with this view. Significantly therefore, Dr. Ping commended the doctrine of non-violence that Mr. King preached as an inspirational message that was guiding the African Union in its approach towards conflict management and resolution and peacemaking and peace building on the continent.
Subsequently, the Chairperson attended a Church service at the new site of the Ebenezer Baptist Church that Martin Luther King Jnr. and his father had served as pastors. In the course of that service, he addressed the faithful on the Marin Luther King legacy and the efforts of the African Union to foster peace and development in Africa and reach out to its Diaspora population. In the aftermath of the Church Service, the Staff of the King Centre led the African Union delegation on a tour of the premises and facilities.
Later that evening, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission attended a reception where he received a proclamation and resolution from Senator Gonzalez James on behalf of the Georgia Senate and conferred on him honorary citizen of Atlanta by Council Member, Michael Bond, on behalf of the City Council.
On 18th April 2011, the visit resumed with a tour of the Centre for Disease Control (CDC), where Dr. Ping was conducted round the facility and had critical discussions with the staff of the CDC on the work of the Centre and its usefulness to and applicability for Africa. The visit underscored the need for cooperation, coordinated and joint ventures to combat and prevent the spread of diseases in Africa and to promote appropriate public health policies and practices.
Following this, Chairperson Ping, on invitation, addressed a session of the Atlanta City Council, in which he laid emphasis on the investment opportunities in Africa and how the program of cooperation between the city and Africa can take advantage of this for the mutual benefit of both parties. He urged the need to follow-up
