The five-day second Aswan Forum for Sustainable Peace and Development concluded its final day on Friday, under the theme “Formulating a Vision for the New African Reality: Towards Stronger Recovery and Better Building”.
The closing session included a speech by Felix Tshisekedi, President of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which is currently serving as President of the African Union (AU).
During his speech, Tshisekedi expressed his appreciation of Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi for his eagerness to hold the forum. The DRC leader also noted that the forum provided a favourable opportunity to discuss ways to overcome the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and promote sustainable peace and development in Africa.
Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shouky delivered a recorded speech on the last day of the forum, in which he noted that although the session was held virtually, it received wide attention at the highest level.
This confirms the conviction of African countries and their partners of the importance of active participation in the Aswan forum as a high-level platform. It serves to enrich joint African action and cooperation with international parties through the exchange of views and experiences.
Shoukry also said that Egypt sought not to stand at the limits of its presidency of the AU, and to continue to struggle with African leaders to meet the challenges facing the continent to build a better future for its people.
He noted that Egypt’s political leadership always takes into account the challenges and concerns of the continent based on its responsibility and African affiliation.
The minister also stressed Egypt’s full confidence in the ability of the countries and peoples of the continent to overcome the current crisis and to cross to safety.
Shoukry expressed his sincere appreciation to all partners who supported the forum’s second session, and pledged to work together to further develop his work. This is particularly in terms of content and form within the framework of continuous cooperation during its upcoming sessions.
On the other hand, Ambassador Ahmed Abdel Latif, Executive Director of the Aswan Forum and Director General of the Cairo International Center for Conflict Resolution, Conservation and Peace Building, reviewed the conclusions of the second session.
This year’s forum focused on the health, social, and economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, and better building in the post-pandemic phase.
These findings will be translated into specific activities that will enhance the capacity of African countries to deal with new risks, he said.
The second session of the Aswan Forum witnessed a rich five-day discussion on a variety of new topics such as trade, climate change, and infrastructure, which play a key role in recovery from the pandemic.
The forum also discussed topics previously addressed in the first edition, such as counter-terrorism, conflict prevention, reconstruction and post-conflict development, forced displacement, women’s agenda, peace, security and the situation in the Sahel and the Red Sea region.
For the first time, a youth dialogue session was organised at the Aswan Forum and in collaboration with Twitter International. It served to highlight the positive contribution of African youth to advancing the agenda of peace, security and development on the African continent.
