Dakar, Jan 4 (APS) – The Minister of the Armed Forces, General Birame Diop, estimated that the Army-Nation concept must adapt to a marked new context, beyond the issues of socio-economic development, to new challenges called terrorism and cross-border crime.
”A model of democracy and stability in Africa (we speak of the Senegalese exception), Senegal is also faced with new challenges, particularly in terms of economic, social and environmental development, defense, security, in a context under region where terrorism, cross-border crime and illicit trafficking of all kinds are rife. The Army-Nation concept must adapt to this new context,” he said.
The minister spoke thus in an interview with the APS, as a prelude to the National Cleanup Day ”Stal Sunu Réew”, the organization of the eighth edition of which, this Saturday, is entrusted to the Armed Forces, accustomed to human investment activities since the independence of Senegal in 1960.
Indeed, he recalled, from the first decade of Senegal’s accession to international sovereignty to the year 2012, the role of the Armed Forces in economic development was essentially limited to one-off interventions in the areas of infrastructure, agriculture and relief in case of emergency or crisis.
”This philosophy continued under the different regimes, with variations depending on the priorities and the economic, social and political circumstances of the moment,” said General Birame Diop.
It was from 2012, with the second political alternation, that the role of the Armed Forces in the economic field increased considerably, within the framework of a national development strategy and a notable strengthening of their resources, -he emphasized.
”For decades, the Army-Nation concept has allowed the Armed Forces to actively participate in the development of Senegal, due to their level of organization, their means and their technical skills. However, the socio-political, security and economic context has evolved significantly in recent years,” noted the former Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces (2000-2001).
It is in this sense that ”an inclusive and participatory technical committee is responsible for revisiting the Army-Nation concept to propose a new one which is adapted to current realities and the vision of the new authorities,” said the Minister of the Armed Forces.
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