The Gambian delegation is led by Hon. Sering Modou Njie, Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad.
He is accompanied by Ms. Fatou Kinneh Jobe, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Mr. Musa Mbye, Permanent Secretary at the Office of the Vice President; Deputy Head of Mission at The Gambia’s Embassy in Addis Ababa; and Mrs. Tunko Jallow, First Secretary at MOFA.
Opening the session at the InterContinental Hotel, H.E. Edouard Bizimana, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Burundi and Chairperson of the AU Executive Council, stressed the need for stronger and more coordinated responses to Africa’s persistent and emerging security threats.
He noted that existing frameworks including the African Peace and Security Architecture, APSA, the Peace and Security Council, the Continental Early Warning System, the African Standby Force, and the AU Peace Fund provide an important foundation for conflict prevention, mediation, peacekeeping and peacebuilding.
The Council is also addressing growing threats such as terrorism and violent extremism, transnational organized crime, interstate tensions, unconstitutional changes of government, humanitarian crises, youth exclusion, climate insecurity, and emerging technological risks.
AU Commission Chairperson H.E. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf called for urgent action to strengthen early warning and preventive diplomacy.
He urged better coordination among the AU Commission, the Peace and Security Council, Member States, and Regional Economic Communities, and stressed the need for sustainable financing for Africa’s peace and security agenda.
The session is convened under H.E. João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço, President of Angola and AU Champion for Peace and Reconciliation in Africa.
It is expected to produce strategic recommendations to strengthen Africa’s capacity to prevent and resolve conflicts and advance the goal of “Silencing the Guns” by 2030.
The Gambia’s participation underscores its continued commitment to continental efforts to promote peace, stability, good governance, and sustainable development
