Tuesday 1 Oct 2023 {HMC} Egypt will assume the presidency of the African Peace and Security Council on Oct. 1 for a month, said Mohamed Gad, Egypt’s ambassador to Ethiopia and its Permanent Representative to the African Union.
Egypt will work to enhance the role of the Council in maintaining peace, security and stability and in addressing the security and development challenges facing the African continent, Gad said Monday.
The Egyptian presidency of the Council comes in a complex regional and international context in which security challenges are increasing, requiring concerted efforts and transparent consultation on ways to confront them through a comprehensive approach in order to establish stability and security in the African continent and achieve the goals of the African Union Development Agenda 2063.
Egypt will organize many events, starting with the Council’s visit to Cairo to hold an interactive meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs on peace and security issues in the continent, consultations with the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, and a session of the Council at the level of permanent delegates on the link between peace, security and development, and reconstruction in the aftermath of conflicts.
The Council will also visit the Egyptian Center for Peacekeeping Training affiliated to the Ministry of Interior.
It also will visit Port Sudan, the first of its kind since the outbreak of the Sudanese crisis on April 15, 2023, as part of Egypt’s keenness to enhance solidarity with the Sudanese people and support Sudanese state institutions, and prepare the Council and the African Union to review the situation on the ground, assuming its responsibilities in advancing efforts to reach a peaceful solution to the crisis.
The Egyptian presidency program will include holding annual consultations between the African Peace and Security Council and the UN Security Council, the African Trio in the Security Council, and the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission.
A joint session will also be held between the Peace and Security Council and the Permanent Representatives Sub-Committee for General Supervision and Budget Coordination, Financial and Administrative Affairs – chaired by Egypt – with the aim of studying the financing of African peace operations, as well as a session on developments in the situation in Somalia and arrangements after the exit of the African Union Transitional Mission with the aim of supporting the Somali state institutions in combating terrorism and building and sustaining peace.
The ambassador also reported that other sessions will be held on combating terrorism in the African continent, the humanitarian situation on the continent, women, peace and security issues, and climate, peace and security.
Egypt was unanimously elected to the two-year seat on the Peace and Security Council during the meetings of the African Union Executive Council in February 2024, as a representative of the North African region.
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