By Christiana Afua Nyarko/Eugenia Otenwaa
Accra, April 11, GNA – Mr Ernest Brogya Genfi, the Deputy Minister of Defence, has reiterated the need to tackle emerging and complex defence and security challenges, including terrorism on the African Continent, with a multidimensional approach as no country can do it successfully.
The Deputy Defence Minister, in his closing remarks to officially close the African Land Forces Summit (ALFS) in Accra on Thursday, said the wealth of deliberations, ideas and the opportunities created for strategic engagement and networking would serve as a ‘breeding ground’ for the development of agreements and action plans between countries to address defence and security challenges.
“We acknowledge that we cannot address them alone as individual countries. A concerted and multiagency approach, which the ALFS has amply provided, is the way to go. I trust that we have taken full advantage of this summit in that regard,” he said.
Mr Brogya Genfi reiterated Ghana’s commitment to playing the lead role, which would provide platforms for allied and friendly states to deliberate more on common challenges that plagued the continent.
The four-day summit, which began on Monday, April 11, brought together military leaders, defence officials, and members of the diplomatic corps from across 50 countries in Africa and Europe to devise defence strategies, share knowledge on best practices and collaborate to tackle security challenges on the continent.
It was co-hosted by Ghana and the United States Army Southern European Task Force, Africa.
Major General Lawrence Kwaku Gbetanu, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), said the “takeaways” from the high-profile gathering would inform policy decisions of armies in Ghana and other Africans countries represented at the summit.
He hinted of a regular evaluation process conducted on policy outcomes by participating countries to determine the impact of their implementation.
Maj. Gen. Andrew Gainey, the Commanding General of the US Army Southern European Task Force, Africa, encouraged participant senior military personnel to apply lessons and knowledge gained through fostering multinational and regional cooperation and synchronise action plans to achieve the desired results.
“I encourage all of you to apply valuable lessons learned and to continue to work together to build the multinational connections that are essential to a future of peace and prosperity on the African Continent,” he said.
The Summit is a yearly event that offers a platform for senior army leaders across Africa to foster relationships, exchange ideas on shared security concerns and encourage regional cooperation.
GNA
ABD