Dakar, Nov 26 (APS) – The Senegalese Minister of the Armed Forces, General Birame Diop, underlined Tuesday in Dakar the need to promote cross-border management of security issues in the face of new threats.
”Faced with security threats, we cannot act in isolation. Collective security is today an imperative necessity, a call to transcend our borders for lasting stability,” he declared in particular.
General Diop spoke at the opening of an international conference devoted to the theme of sovereignty and security in West Africa and the Sahel. This international meeting is the initiative of the Center for Advanced Defense and Security Studies (CHEDS).
”The West African region is experiencing a metastasis of violent extremism, organized cross-border crime, migratory and environmental phenomena,” recalled the Minister of the Armed Forces.
He insisted on the fact that these transnational scourges ”which spread from the Sahel to coastal states, exploit the weaknesses and divisions of our states creating persistent instability”.
”Collective action by States constitutes the only panacea in the face of the resurgence of security threats,” insisted Mr. Diop.
According to him, the constraints imposed by global trade networks and the power issues of developed countries reduce the room for maneuver of the States of the sub-region and the Sahel.
He did not fail to speak out against a certain dependence of African countries inherited in part from global economic structures and often intensified under the effect of new multilateral realities.
For the Minister of the Armed Forces, external influences, whether political, economic or security, are redefining the priorities of African states while weakening their economies.
All things having led General Diop to advocate an exploration of bold and innovative solutions with a view to strengthening the collective capacities of African States in the sub-region to face security threats without sacrificing the sovereignist aspirations of its peoples.
In this regard, he welcomed the holding of this conference in Dakar, affirming that it serves as a framework for Senegal to renew its commitment to solid African sovereignty based on endogenous decisions in line with realities and aspirations. of African peoples.
For his part, General Jean Diémé, Director General of CHEDS, estimated that the meeting offers participants the opportunity to address the nagging question of sovereignty and security in a sub-region prey to the spread of multifaceted threats. .
KM/AKS/OID
