Ahmed Abd Al-Latif, Director of the Cairo International Center for Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping and Peace-building (CCCPA), has visited Brussels to discuss cooperation with number of development partners, such as the European Union (EU) and Belgium, and to hold meetings with research centers and institutions working in the field of peace, security and development, with the participation of the Egyptian Mission in Brussels.
Meetings with officials of the European Commission and the Foreign Service Organization focused on ways to expand cooperation with the CCCPA in the field of building the capacities of African countries to include other areas of the center’s work other than climate change, peace, and development, such as the areas of peacekeeping and peace-building, preventing extremism leading to terrorism and combating cross-border threats.
They also discussed ways to strengthen the EU’s partnership with the Aswan Forum for Sustainable Peace and Development, which the EU joined as a supportive partner in its third edition, held last June.
The conference focused on the implications of climate change on stability in Africa and resulted in the initiative of chairing the COP27 Conference on Climate Change and Sustainable Peace, which was launched at the Sharm El-Sheikh Conference.
European officials expressed their appreciation for Egypt’s efforts to achieve peace, stability and development in Africa and the Middle East, and for the contributions of the CCCPA in this regard
They confirmed their interest in expanding the scope of cooperation with it, especially in the field of combating terrorism, taking into account the joint presidency of Egypt and the EU for the Global Counterterrorism Forum, which will hold its coordination meeting in Cairo in early May.
The CCCPA will participate in organizing the meeting in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Meetings with officials of the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs focused on efforts to activate the climate change and sustainable peace initiative that the Belgian Foreign Minister participated in the event launched at the Sharm El-Sheikh conference, especially the first consultative meeting of the initiative, which is scheduled to be held in Cairo on 6 and 7 March.
The meetings with officials of the Ministry of International Development and the Belgian Development Agency (ENABEL) dealt with the opportunities for cooperation with the Aswan Forum, which attracted their interest to focus on activating the relationship between peace, security and development through a comprehensive approach and long-term measures.
Abd Al-Latif also gave a lecture at the EU Diplomatic Academy, where he reviewed the objectives and pillars of the Climate Change and Sustainable Peace Initiative, developed by the CCCPA in cooperation with the COP27 Presidency Team.
This cooperation is an example of comprehensive responses to the interconnected crises that are taking place in the international arena and reflected Egypt’s pioneering role in supporting peace-building efforts and strengthening international climate action.
