Preparations for the Dakar Forum on Peace and Security are “almost 100 percent satisfactory”, according to its president.
By Abdourahmane Diallo
A few days before the opening of the 8th Dakar Forum on Peace and Security (October 24-25), the President of the Scientific Committee, Brigadier General Mbaye Cisse, Chief of Staff of the President of the Republic says the stage is set for the event.
“We are in a logistical phase. We are dealing with the movement of experts and their reception in Dakar. To facilitate this, we have set up focal points who are talking with them to make sure they are in good conditions to participate. They have received all the necessary documents. We are in the final stretch of our preparations. Everything is ready and we just have to wait for the opening by the Head of State,” he said.
The former Director General of the Center for Advanced Studies in Defense and Security (CHEDS) spoke Wednesday evening at a press conference of the committee.
The 2022 edition will be held under the theme: “Africa in the test of exogenous shocks: challenges of stability and sovereignty.”
It highlights two major concerns.
Firstly, the recurrence of exogenous shocks, that is to say, all global upheavals (such as the world health crisis of 2019-2020 and the Russia-Ukraine war) that follow one another and negatively impact African states politically, economically, socially and especially security-wise, explained Brigadier General Mbaye Cissé.
According to him, these shocks, which generate socio-economic tensions, seem to amplify instability on the continent from year to year, as evidenced by the many ongoing conflicts in the Sahel, Central and East Africa.
“Faced with this observation, and this is the second concern, 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. This is the meaning to be given to the expression stability and sovereignty challenges,” he said.
During this forum, which is a moment of questioning and advocacy, participants will have the opportunity to discuss ways and means to address the major security, political and socio-economic concerns of the African continent.
They will attempt to provide answers to the following two questions: How to ensure greater stability in our states by strengthening our autonomy in the area of security? How to develop greater food, energy, health and digital sovereignty to break the cycle of dependence on the outside world?
This edition will focus on Portuguese-speaking Africa with a high-level institutional presence of Angola, Cabo Verde and Guinea-Bissau.
“It is a diplomatic option of our country to give more voice to its relations with its partners often distant as Angola, which is a regional power in southern Africa and counts a little in the African political arena,” said President Macky Sall’s Chief of Staff.
Historical partners of the forum, France and Japan will be represented.
International delegations will also be present, including from Saudi Arabia, Turkey, India, The Gambia, Mali, Sudan and the United States, as well as organizations such as UEMOA, ECOWAS and NATO.
ARD/te/fss/as/APA