The Cairo International Center for Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping, and Peacebuilding (CCCPA), the Secretariat of the Aswan Forum for Sustainable Peace and Development, held a briefing for the UN Country Team in Egypt ahead of the fourth edition of the Aswan Forum, which is scheduled to take place next year. The briefing was hosted by Elena Panova, the UN Resident Coordinator in Egypt, and attended by representatives of all UN agencies and programmes in Egypt.
The Aswan Forum, launched by Egypt in 2019 during its presidency of the African Union (AU), is a unique platform that addresses African priorities, especially the implementation of the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus (HDPN), by bridging the gap between policy and practice. The Forum has received wide recognition and praise from the AU and the UN and is mentioned as an axis of cooperation in the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (2023-2027) with the Government of Egypt.
Ambassador Ahmed Abdel-Latif, the Director General of CCCPA, provided an overview of the Aswan Forum and its achievements and thanked the UN for its high-level engagement and valuable contributions. He also highlighted the importance of the forthcoming edition in light of the current regional and international developments, the growing complexity of the political landscape in Africa, and the changing nature of conflicts. He said that the Forum will offer a forward-looking African vision of the future of international cooperation, as well as an African perspective on re-envisioning peace, security, and development.
Ambassador Abdel-Latif said that the Forum’s fourth edition will address several important topics, such as conflict prevention, addressing the root causes of conflict, reconstruction and development efforts in Africa, holistic responses to terrorism and transnational threats, strengthening national institutions and peacebuilding, climate vulnerability, forced displacement, financing of peace operations and peacebuilding, and the role of women and youth in building lasting peace.
The participants commended Egypt’s contribution to strengthening collective action and international cooperation and expressed their keenness to continue the fruitful partnership with the Aswan Forum and to participate in its preparatory process. They stressed the significance of convening the forthcoming edition at this critical juncture and in light of the multiple challenges at the regional and international levels.
