The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in cooperation with the Cairo International Center for Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding (CCCPA), the African Union Commission (AUC), and the African Development Agency (NEPAD) organized on Wednesday a workshop to review the relevant policy of the African Union (AU) in the field of post-conflict reconstruction and development.
The workshop was attended by the Commissioner of Political Affairs, Peace and Security of the African Union, the Executive Director of the African Development Agency, a number of senior international officials and representatives of international institutions and accredited embassies in Cairo.
During the opening of the workshop, Ashraf Sweilem, Assistant Foreign Minister for African Organizations, stressed the centrality of African relations in Egypt’s foreign policy and Egypt’s interest in achieving sustainable peace throughout the continent in light of the interdependence between the challenges of peace, development and humanitarian needs in a number of African countries,
This is what Egypt will be pushing in the context of the leadership of the peace-building, reconstruction and development file, as well as its current chairmanship of the steering committee of the African Development Agency, and reflects the confidence of African countries in Egyptian capacities in those areas.
He also stressed the importance of the role that the African Union Center for Reconstruction and Development (ACPRD), hosted by Egypt, will play in the development and implementation of projects to build and sustain peace and in coordinating regional and international efforts in this regard.
Ahmed Abdel-Latif, Director CCCPA, stressed the importance of the topics of peace-building and reconstruction in efforts to achieve security and stability,
He noted that the workshop is part of the preparatory process for the fourth edition of the Aswan Forum for Sustainable Peace and Development, and reviewed the national capacity-building efforts of the Cairo Center of African Excellence at the continental level in line with the vision of Egyptian foreign policy to support brotherly African countries.
Bankoly Adewe, Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security of the African Union, thanked Egypt for its pioneering role in achieving peace, stability and sustainable peace on the continent, especially as it hosted the headquarters of the African Union Center for Post-Conflict Reconstruction and Development. He highlighted President Al-Sisi’s leadership in the post-conflict reconstruction and development process and his remarkable role in this regard. He noted that the workshop aimed at discussing post-conflict reconstruction and development policy in Africa. He described it as an important development as the workshop represented an opportunity to mobilize experts and policy makers to foster a stronger and more effective partnership in order to address new post-conflict threats to reconstruction and development with a focus on industry and peacebuilding.
Executive Director of the African Development Agency Nardos Bekele also pointed to the Agency’s vital role in implementing Africa Agenda 2063 and the Agency’s support for peace-building, reconstruction and development programs that directly address the challenges facing the continent, stressing in the same context the role of these programs in preventing crises before they erupt.
The objectives of the workshop and its effectiveness are in line with the Egyptian vision of the importance of advancing peace-building and reconstruction efforts and adopting a comprehensive approach to the challenges facing the African continent in a manner that addresses the developmental, social and humanitarian dimensions as major factors of conflict, in parallel with national capacity-building efforts which are the main entry point for achieving sustainable peace.
The workshop will be held over three days, the first of which was held at the expert level, to review the policy of the African Union for reconstruction and development programs, and then it will be adopted by the heads of state and government of African countries during the next African Summit.
