Four Houston-Luanda Sister City Association (HLSCA) board representatives attended the 4th annual Houston Africa Day celebration at the George R. Brown Convention Center. The honored guest for the day was Hilda Suka-Mafudze, Ambassador to the African Union Mission to the USA. Thirteen ambassadors from African nations participated, including Espirito Santo, the Angolan Ambassador to the USA. The Angolan consul general in Houston, Ana do Nascimento was also among the guests.

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Africa Day, known as African Unity Day, is celebrated annually on May 25th.  It commemorates the founding of the Organization fo African Unity (OAU), the precursor of the African Union (AU) on that day in 1963.

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“Houston Africa Day is a way to celebrate business and trade opportunities along with the vibrant art, culture and food of our African diaspora in Houston,” said Mayor Sylvester Turner.

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Fátima Benge, HLSCA president, Muma Makondekwa, Ellen Goldberg and Esperança Rosa represented HLSCA at the reception. It followed the first-ever half-day business forum to engage Houston business executives interested in doing business in Africa with African leaders.  “The opportunities in Africa in the areas of health care, agriculture, manufacturing and energy are a great match for sectors in which Houston companies are global leaders” noted Chris Olson, the director of the Mayor’s Office of Trade and International Affairs (MOTIA).

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“As Africa grows, Houston will continue to flourish as well. Africa Day is one of our ways to showcase this relationship,” said Houston’s Global Trade Manager for Africa, Mazda Denon.

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Houston has links with 19 sister cities throughout the world, but only one in Africa—with Luanda, Angola.