From: Biniam Haile \(SWE\) (eritrea.lave@comhem.se)
Date: Thu Aug 20 2009 - 14:05:21 EDT
"The two-day meeting organized by the African Centre for Strategic
Studies -- Kenya (ACSS) brought security chiefs from Kenya, Burundi,
Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda."
African security chiefs discuss piracy, terrorism in Kenya
18:53, August 20, 2009
Listen http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90853/6734685.html
African security chiefs started a two-day meeting in Nairobi on Thursday
to discuss rising piracy and terrorism, among others, in the region.
The two-day meeting which brought together regional security chiefs,
senior policy markers, academia and civil society from eight Eastern
African countries is also addressing civil-military relations, national
and regional security strategy.
The conference will highlight the region's breadth of security products
and services and come up with recommendations to promote the development
of a comprehensive regional security strategy.
Kenyan Foreign Affairs Assistant Minister Richard Onyonka who opened the
meeting called on participants to address bad governance which he said
can undermine order and stability in the region.
Onyonka said weak states can become failed states and called for
concerted efforts among regional states to address insecurity which he
said is multifaceted and thus cannot be addressed by a single nation.
"We must also recognize that the best solutions require multiple nations
acting with a common agenda. Good examples seen in recent months are the
global response to the economic crisis, the threat of a pandemic flu and
piracy in the Gulf of Aden and off the Horn of Africa," he said.
Onyonka said regional nations have shown determination to come together
and develop unified responses to common challenges despite having some
ideological differences.
"The daunting task of this gathering is to identify security threats
facing the region, analyze the current mechanisms and develop a common
understanding of the security challenges," the assistant minister said.
These, he said, include environmental security, disaster management and
prevention, terrorism and counter terrorism, piracy, civil-military
relations, democracy and development.
"The region needs to take advantage of the abundance of skills and
expertise that is assembled in this conference in order to provide and
guarantee basic security for every citizen," Onyonka said.
The two-day meeting organized by the African Centre for Strategic
Studies -- Kenya (ACSS) brought security chiefs from Kenya, Burundi,
Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.
The meeting is expected to come up with proposals that will be useful in
the development of a strategy that will address these multiple
challenges.
The meeting came at a time when the region is faced with threats of
terror, piracy and environmental challenges.
Source:Xinhua
----[This List to be used for Eritrea Related News Only]----