President Paul Kagame yesterday took part in a ceremony to inaugurate the newly built African Union Conference Centre (AUCC).

The new 113 meter-high block will be the venue for the African Union Heads of State and Government Summit that kicks off Sunday.

The ceremony was also attended by Ethiopian Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi, Teodoro Obiang Nguema, President of Equatorial Guinea and current Chairperson of the African Union, Jean Ping, Chairperson of the African Union Commission and Mr. Jia Qinglin, Chairman of the National Committee of the People’s Political Consultative Conference of China, as well as representatives of the international community.

The ceremony was marked by the unveiling of the Kwame Nkrumah monument, the laying of the first stone of the AU memorial for Human Rights, and the handing over of the keys of the New conference Center by the Chinese authorities to the Chairperson of the AU.The Conference Center was a donation from China.

The AU memorial for Human Rights that reads in part; "For all the victims of human rights abuses in Africa, including those of the slave trade and colonialism and particularly the Genocide in Rwanda, (1994)”, was unveiled by Presidents Kagame, Yayi Boni of Benin and Jacob
Zuma of South Africa.

President Kagame also attended the 26th meeting of NEPAD’s Heads of State and Government Orientation Committee (HSGOC) chaired by Meles Zenawi, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister and current Chairman of the HSGOC.

The meeting ended with the committee adopting the NEPAD report of activities and participants exchanged views on ways to increase productivity in the areas of agriculture to make the continent food secure.

The NEPAD meeting also discussed how to address issues of climate change; improve national resource management, strengthen regional integration and building infrastructure and human skills development.

HSGOC is comprised of Heads of State and Government from 22 African countries from the five regions of Africa.

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