Wednesday January 26, 2022
Egypt’s Cairo International Center for Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding (CCCPA) organized a retreat on Post-2021 Arrangements in Somalia on Tuesday in Cairo with participation from the Federal Government of Somalia, the African Union, the United Nations, and several international partners.
According to the CCCPA’s statement, the retreat comes as part of the preparatory process for the upcoming third edition of the Aswan Forum for Sustainable Peace and Development, for which CCCPA acts as the executive secretariat.
“The retreat aims to provide a space for informal consultations between Somali officials and African and international partners in order to discuss post-2021 arrangements in Somalia, given the completion of AMISOM mandate on the 31st of March 2022,” the statement said adding that it seeks to envision the future of the new African Union mission, including its objectives and tasks; as well as explore the possibility of greater involvement of both the UN and international partners in supporting this new mission.
The two-day event kicked off on Tuesday to discuss various topics, including ways to support and build the capacities of the new African Union mission in order to fulfill the security needs of Somalia, primarily addressing the terrorist threat of Al Shabaab terrorist organization, in addition to the anticipated role of the newly established African Union Center for Post-Conflict Reconstruction and Development based in Cairo.
It will further discuss the support required from international partners to enable Somalia to effectively overcome the challenges of the current phase, as well as strengthening efforts to build institutions and capacities and achieve development in Somalia.
Egypt’s delegation in the retreat is headed by Ambassador Hamdi Loza, deputy minister of foreign affairs for African affairs, and the Somali side is headed by Mahmoud Abdi Hassan, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the statement added.
Founded in 1994 by the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the CCCPA is an Egyptian public agency specialized in training, capacity building, and research in the fields of peace and security in Africa and the Middle East.