African countries meet in Dakar for peace and security forum

An international forum took off Monday in the Senegalese capital to find lasting solutions to crises across the continent.

Not less than 300 participants gathered Monday in Dakar in Senegal within the framework of the international forum on peace and security. Co-organized by Senegal and the France, the meeting's main attractions are the various crises convulsing Africa.

At the centre of the forum, the rise of the Boko Haram sect and jihadism on the continent occupied a place of choice in trade. Far from being a decision-making meeting, the Foundation of Dakar will help lay the groundwork for a strategic and regular meeting on peace and security in Africa.

Clearly, the international Forum in Dakar, the first of its kind on the continent, is defined as a framework for annual reflection on the wars and other conflicts that divides the continent. "I hope that we will strengthen our common vision of the threats facing Africa and identify a basis for coordinating our response to these threats," noted Zimbabwean Strive Masiyiwa, Chairman and CEO of the telecommunications Econet Wireless Group.

And according to Jean-Yves Le Drian, french Minister of defence, "the ambition is to create a common security culture in Africa .Security should be considered by Africans as a priority."

This forum whose design was entrusted to the Institut panafricain strategies (IPS) and the Foundation for strategic research (FRS), brings together an audience of former heads of State, representatives of international organizations, leaders of the opposition, of experts, economic operators, representatives of non-governmental organizations and members of African civil society.

For the presidential panel, Idriss Deby Itno of Chad, Ibrahim Boubakar Keita of Mali, Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz of Mauritania and Faure Gnassingbé Eyadéma are announced this morning alongside their Senegalese counterpart Macky Sall. The opening ceremony of yesterday marked by a series of interventions was chaired by Mohamed Dionne, Prime Minister of Senegal.