By James Amoh Junior, GNA
Accra, July 03, GNA – General Dagvin R.M. Anderson, Commander of the United States( U.S.) Africa Command(AFRICOM), has reaffirmed that lasting peace and stability on the African continent must be driven by African nations.
He said the U.S. would continue to serve as a strategic partner by providing intelligence, technology and capacity-building support to strengthen African-led efforts to address the continent’s evolving security challenges.
General Anderson said while the U.S. remained committed to supporting African countries in addressing security threats, sustainable solutions would depend on stronger regional cooperation, intelligence sharing and investments that promoted both security and economic development.
“The long-term path to stability is going to have to be African-led. It’s going to have to be African partners coming together as appropriate to address these issues,” General Anderson said during a digital press briefing following the conclusion of the 2026 African Chiefs of Defense Conference, ACHOD, in Luanda, Angola.
The conference, attended by representatives from 35 African countries as well as the United States and Brazil, focused on addressing shared security threats, enhancing stability and enabling investment and economic growth across the continent.
The African Chiefs of Defense Conference serves as one of the continent’s premier security fora, bringing together military leaders to strengthen cooperation against emerging security threats while promoting regional stability and development.
This year’s conference placed greater emphasis on integrating defence, diplomacy, commerce and development, reflecting growing recognition that security alone cannot deliver lasting peace without corresponding economic opportunity and institutional resilience.
General Anderson said this year’s conference departed from previous editions by bringing together military leaders, policymakers, development agencies and private sector representatives to examine the close relationship between security and economic prosperity.
He said discussions centred on cross-border threats, including terrorism, organised crime, narcotics trafficking, illegal fishing, maritime insecurity and the growing challenge of misinformation.
“We wanted to move beyond simply discussing the problems to identifying practical solutions and opportunities for collaboration,” he said.
General Anderson, the 7th Commander of the U.S. Africa Command headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany, noted that the conference also explored innovation, stressing that technological advancement should not only focus on acquiring new equipment but also on maximising existing capabilities and adapting commercially available technologies to local conditions.
He cited the participation of African companies, including a Nigerian drone manufacturer, as evidence of growing efforts to develop African solutions to African security challenges.
According to him, investment in affordable technologies, coupled with improved communications, intelligence sharing and innovation, could significantly strengthen the operational effectiveness of African defence forces without imposing excessive financial burdens.
The AFRICOM Commander emphasised that trust among African security institutions remained one of the conference’s most important outcomes.
He said face-to-face engagements among defence chiefs had reinforced relationships needed to confront transnational threats that ignore national borders.
General Anderson pointed to a recent multinational operation that led to the interception of 31 tonnes of cocaine originating from South America and transiting along the West African coast.
He said intelligence shared through international cooperation enabled Spanish authorities to intercept the shipment, describing it as the largest maritime drug seizure on record.
The operation, he noted, reflected the importance of timely intelligence sharing and established partnerships in combating organised transnational crime.
On the security situation in the Horn of Africa, General Anderson described developments in Sudan, Somalia and the Red Sea as interconnected challenges with implications for global trade and regional stability.
He described the conflict in Sudan as one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises and stressed that its resolution would ultimately depend on the parties directly involved.
He said while the U.S. could provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, long-term peace in Somalia and the wider Horn of Africa would require regional ownership and African-led solutions.
General Anderson highlighted continued cooperation with Nigeria in counter-terrorism operations against the Islamic State, ISIS, saying intelligence collaboration had helped eliminate senior terrorist leaders and disrupt the group’s global communications network.
He explained that the United States had since reduced its military footprint following successful operations while maintaining intelligence-sharing partnerships requested by Nigerian authorities.
“Ultimately, it’s about bringing unique U.S. capabilities that allow partners to be more effective in these fights,” he said.
Responding to questions on concerns about external interference, General Anderson stressed that AFRICOM’s approach was based on partnership rather than directing African security priorities.
He said the U.S. sought areas of mutual interest where security cooperation and economic investment could reinforce each other.
“Security and economics feed each other. You need both to develop together, and those solutions must work within the local environment and local culture if they are to be sustainable,” he said.
General Anderson, who prior to assuming leadership of AFRICOM was the Director for Joint Force Development on the U.S. Joint Staff at the Pentagon, encouraged African countries with constrained defence budgets to prioritise intelligence sharing, affordable commercial technologies and innovation over expensive military acquisitions.
He noted that commercially available drones, communications systems and space-based technologies had become increasingly affordable and could significantly improve operational effectiveness when combined with proper training and information-sharing frameworks.
GNA
Reporter: James Amoh Junior
Email: [email protected]
Edited by: Samuel Osei-Frempong