Hundreds of experts are descending on the Senegalese capital Dakar to discuss ways for Africa to cope with “exogenous shocks”.
By Abdou Cissé
It is only a few hours to go before the opening of the 8th International Forum on Peace and Security in Africa at the Abdou Diouf International Conference Centre in Diamniadio (CICAD), about 30 km from Dakar, under the chairmanship of the Senegalese president, Macky Sall, accompanied by several of his African counterparts.
33 delegations expected
The two-day meeting which will facilitate exchanges between decision-makers and experts of different backgrounds is being held this year under the theme: “Africa in the face of exogenous shocks: challenges of stability and sovereignty.”
Speaking to the press last Wednesday, General Mbaye Cissé, the head of the organisng team said “everything is ready” for the event.
He said the theme highlights two major concerns: the recurrence of exogenous shocks, namely the global upheavals of the last few years, namely the coronavirus and the Russia-Ukraine war, and their negative impact on African economies already severely affected by a security crisis.
Several African states have lost large parts of their territories to Islamist insurgents linked to international jihadist groups such as Al-Qaeda or the Islamic State.
According to General Cissé, “it is urgent that African states reverse the trend by reducing their level of dependence on the outside world in order to build sustainable resilience.”
According to its organisers, the Dakar forum will serve as a platform for the continent’s leaders to make Africa’s voice heard again.
At the height of the Russia-Ukraine crisis, President Sall, in his capacity as chair of the African Union, met with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.
At the end of the meeting, the Senegalese leader obtained from the Kremlin the freeing of wheat stocks blocked at Ukrainian ports due to the war between the two countries.
For Sall, the urgent priority was to avoid an unprecedented food crisis in Africa.
The Dakar meeting cannot ignore the recurrence of coups in West Africa.
In five years, five putsches have been witnessed in three countries in the region, including Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea.
These institutional crises have put democratic gains to the test and weakened the regional grouping Ecowas, which has had difficulty convincing the juntas to return their countries to constitutional order within a reasonable time.
AC/te/lb/as/APA