Buenos Aires, July 11 (IANS): Argentine President Alberto Fernandez called for national unity during a celebration marking the country's 206th Independence Day.

"In order to move forward as the community that we are, we must tear down walls and start building bridges," Xinhua news agency quoted the President as saying in a statement.

Fernandez reaffirmed the value of "unity", which "is always the fruit of the willingness of those involved to consolidate it.

History teaches us that unity is a value that we must preserve in the most difficult moments."

The President also called for the establishment of "the great consensus that is needed to develop ourselves once and for all in the face of the challenges we face in the 21st century".

He called on Argentines "not to abandon the dreams, the commitment, and the dedication that we learned from those who built our country".

Fernandez also stressed his work to recover "the most egalitarian country we had that was distinguished by upward social movement and a state that guaranteed it" and to banish "all kinds of inequalities".

The Independence of Argentina was declared on July 9, 1816, by the Congress of Tucuman.