The 8th International Forum on Peace and Security in Africa, which started in the capital of Senegal, Dakar on Monday, has come to an end. An emphasis was made that the African Continent should ensure its own security, during the speeches.
During the two-day Forum, participants mainly focused on the Africa’s security challenges. The event was attended by more than one thousand ministers, security experts, military personnel and representatives from various international organizations.
Participants included heads of states from the African countries, as well as many top officials from countries such as Turkiye, India, Japan, Saudi Arabia and France.
The Dakar Forum took place during an environment in which France was forced to withdraw all its military forces from Mali and the criticisms regarding the United Nations (UN) missions and increasing presence of the Western powers in the region.
The UN peacekeeping operations fail in the fight against terrorism
In the Forum themed “Africa in the Face of Exogenous Shock: Challenges of Stability and Sovereignty”, the opening speech was delivered by the President of Senegal Macky Sall and current president of the African Union.
Sall said that he hoped this event could help Africa’s goal of securing a permanent seat at the G20 organization and the UN Security Council.
Stating that Africa is currently facing many crises related to terrorism, internal conflicts, climate change and healthcare, Sall pointed out that the issue of terrorism over the continent is not just a problem belonging to only Africa.
Underlining that the UN Peacekeeping Operations have not been much successful in preventing the prevail of terrorism on the continent, Sall said that anti-terrorism doctrines needed to be revised.
Sall also pointed out the High-Level Advisory Board on Effective Multilateralism established by the UN Secretary-General, and said “For it to be trusted and accepted, multilateralism must serve the interests of all nations”.
Africa must hold a seat at the UN Security Council
Speaking about the Forum’s missions, the African Union’s Special Envoy on Women, Peace and Security, Bineta Diop stated: “We agree that Africa needs to position itself, as a superpower, be present at the UN Security Council and, have the right to veto if necessary. This is crucial, especially in terms of multilateralism”.
An African solidarity is needed before external solidarity
The Expert on Defense and Security of the G5 Sahel organization, General Mohamed Znagui Ould Sid’Ahmed Ely stated at his speech: “Africa must strive for its own security first. There must be an African solidarity, before an external solidarity. Secondly, we should focus on the education of the African people, which are the true riches of Africa. We have to pay more attention to young people”.
Resolutions are being discussed to end the foreign aid
Africanews correspondent Pascale-Mahé Keingna reported the following about the Dakar Forum: “Participants will attend the seminar for two days, in order to discuss how the foreign events from outside the continent affect the security of the African nations. And the purpose in these meetings are to seek better solutions that would ensure the Continent no longer relies on foreign aid for military issued, or in food shortages, to keep its own national independence”.
‘We must strengthen our security by our own means’
The discussions at the forum were mainly centered around the physical safety of civilians in African countries.
The former Chadian Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation and High Representative of the Coalition for Sahel Djimé Adoum stressed that the continent should strengthen its defense and security capacities by its own means:
“We do not need a foreign military to come and do this job for us, we do have enough military personnel, but we need three basic things; logistical support, intelligence and training; because it is an asymmetrical warfare and we need more people that can adapt to the newer tactics of terrorism”.
Cavusoglu: We are against neo-colonialism
The Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu had also attended the Forum, which was held at the Abdou Diouf International Conference Center (CICAD), which is a project actually built by a Turkish company.
Speaking at the Forum Session on Global Crises and Sovereignty in Africa, Cavusoglu stated that neo-colonialism has severed the sovereignty and the stability of Africa, a continent which is already facing various problems such as terrorism, military coups and economic crises.
Stating that they were against colonialism throughout the history, and still are against the 21st century neo-colonialism, Cavusoglu said, “We believe that Africa should take its own destiny, into its own hands.”
Reiterating that modern Turkiye is still against neo-colonialism, Cavusoglu emphasized that they see the African nations as equal partners, and advocate win-win principles in their relations.
FM Cavusoglu also held bilateral meetings with the African leaders.
Cooperation with the Antalya Diplomacy Forum
In addition, Cavusoglu and his Senegalese counterpart Aïssata Tall Sall have signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the times when Antalya Diplomatic Forum and the Dakar Forum took place, on content partnership and cooperation.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Cavusoglu stated “We all know that the world is going through a very rough and an interesting process. Therefore, we need new visions and policies for a just world, and for peace and stability especially in Africa”.
Speaking at the ceremony, the Senegalese Foreign Minister Tall Sall stressed that this memorandum of understanding is very critical in making it possible for these two forums to take place in harmony with each other. Tall Sall stated that the Antalya Diplomacy Forum would be an example for them, and that they will try to find solutions to the problems that concern the entire international community, and especially Senegal.
The detection of the problems and possible resolutions concerning the African continent are being discussed at the Dakar Forum, which is held annually since 2014.
A cooperation with Asia comes forth, while the West is being turned down
While anti-Western and especially anti-French sentiments have been growing recently in Africa, both by the governments and among the general public itself, an emphasis is being put on independence and national sovereignty. While French-backed governments were being toppled in the region, protests against French military convoys have resulted in withdrawal of French troops from Mali, where they had been deployed since 2014.
The legitimacy of the French military presence, which is also a former colonial power in the Sahel region, with around 5100 troops in the region under the pretext of fighting against the terrorism, is now being questioned.
In addition, the failure of the UN Peacekeeping Force in the region against terrorism and the ineffectiveness of its operations have been frequently brought up in the recent time periods. The African leaders aim to develop better solutions based on their own military power to ensure the security of the continent.
While the West is being pushed away from Africa, cooperations between Russia, Turkiye and China comes forth in many areas, and especially in the field of security. And now the African leaders have these cooperation networks to not turn into a neo-colonial relationship, and that a win-win policy is being followed respecting their national sovereignty in bilateral relations, on their political agendas.
