African leaders feel that the "survival and development of their countries in this nuclear age depend in large part on their ability to form larger, powerful groupings," Nathan A. Quary, counselor for the Ghanian mission to the U.N., said last night.

Reviewing the history of Pan-Africanism for a small, predominantly Negro audience, Quay said that the "common experience of colonial domination has developed an under-current of common community" among the African states.

The African countries have a strong bond in their present fear of exploitation, of a subtle neo-colonialism based on the economic interests of the former colonial powers. These colonial powers had not voluntarily moved out of Africa, Quay said, and they still have economic interests there.

Emerging on their own into "an insecure world" and still fearing the domination of former colonial rulers, the African nations desire "to insulate themselves from the influence of the Cold War," Quay said. They have therefore adopted a policy of "positive neutrality, of non-alignment."

Seek Unity

Quay emphasized that the African nations want to be free enough from world tensions and conflicts to concentrate their efforts on encouraging pan-African unity.

Quay devoted a large portion of his remarks to a review of the history of pan-Africanism. The movement, he said, was started in the New World by people of African descent, and only moved "home to Africa" recently.

The 1963 conference of the heads of 30 African states has finally initiated concerted action, after years of conferences which produced no visible results. Even this action is not enough, Quay said. He reiterated that Africans need "central political direction" to enable them to act efficiently.