Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) 15 October 2024 (SPS) – A high-level Sahrawi military delegation, led by Taleb Ammi Deih, the Central Director of Operations and Inspection at the Ministry of National Defense, participated in the first Conference of African Defense Ministers in response to an invitation from the Ethiopian Ministry of Defense.
The conference kicked off Tuesday morning at the Adwa Memorial Museum in Addis Ababa, with the attendance of many African defense ministers, senior military officers, resident military attachés in Addis Ababa, and researchers involved in military affairs.
Themed "Africa: United in Peace, Strong in Security," the event is expected to discuss the importance of strengthening existing partnerships to combat terrorism, addressing global and regional security threats, and identifying future cooperation tendencies.
The conference was inaugurated with a welcoming ceremony for the participating delegations by Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister, Demeke Mekonnen, former Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, Minister of Defense, Engineer Aisha Mohammed, along with senior Ethiopian military officers and government officials. Ethiopian military formations, along with a ceremonial and protocol unit, greeted the guests.
The opening session of the conference began with a speech by Ethiopian Defense Minister Aisha Mohammed, who welcomed the attendees and emphasized that African countries must engage in collective consultation to address the current challenges facing the continent.
She stressed the need to strengthen security, intensify military cooperation, and establish solid partnerships to combat terrorism and address global and regional security threats.
She added that the conference is expected to explore strategies that would enable the continent to achieve self-sufficiency in military resources and weaponry.
For his part, Babatunde Abayomi Taiwo, Head of Political Affairs and Counterterrorism at the African Union, praised Ethiopia's positive contribution to peace and security in Africa and globally.
He reflected on the crises and wars currently affecting the world, amid endless challenges and tensions, which require the leaders and armies of the African continent to cooperate more and unite efforts to confront these challenges, as Africa suffers greatly from wars, conflicts, coups, and political insecurity, and economic instability in some countries and regions.
The African Defense Ministers and Leaders Conference will continue for three days, with various workshops discussing a wide range of security concerns, including combating terrorism at both the international and African levels.
Participants are also expected to discuss ways to find military resources and weapons to achieve self-sufficiency on the African level and the role of international peacekeeping missions in finding solutions to internal conflicts. Additionally, there will be an exchange of field expertise in combating organized crime and other security challenges.
Alongside African military leaders, numerous military and economic blocks from the continent are attending the conference, including the North African Regional Capability (NARC), of which the Sahrawi Republic is a member, along with Algeria, Egypt, and Libya.
The Sahrawi delegation, in addition to the Central Director of Operations and Inspection, includes Ministry of Defense Adviser, Yahdih El-Caid Saleh, the Permanent Representative to Ethiopia and to the African Union, Lamine Baali, and the media attaché at the embassy in Addis Ababa, Rgueibi Abdallah.
During the first day of the conference, the Sahrawi delegation held several meetings with their African counterparts, discussing ways to address security challenges and how to overcome them, in addition to joint cooperation in various military and security fields. (SPS)
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