ADDIS ABABA, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- The African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU) have vowed to further strengthen their cooperation in addressing challenges of peace and security on the African continent.
The AU Peace and Security Council (AU PSC) and the EU Political and Security Committee (EUPSC) on Friday convened their 10th annual joint consultative meeting at the AU headquarters in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa, with the focus on current pressing security issues in Africa, particularly in the Sahel, the Horn of Africa, the Great Lakes region, the center and the north of the continent.
The AU and the EU on Thursday deliberated on migration of African youth who flee the continent in search of better life, but experience tragedies.
Cherif Mahamat Zene, Chad Ambassador to AU, who was also co-chair of the AU-EU consultative meeting, reiterated that conflicts, terrorist attacks, insecurity and instability continue to prevail in different parts of the continent.
The situations in the Central African Republic (CAR), South Sudan, Somalia, the Lake Chad Basin and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), as well as the chronic instability in Guinea Bissau, were the focus of the meeting, said Zene.
"We will be able to identify, for each of the situations on our agenda, ways of finding joint solutions in a collective approach, taking into account, of course, new threats and developments that require us to readjust our tools in the face of insecurity and instability," he said.
Walter Stevens, Chair of the EUPSC, who has also co-chaired the meeting, underlined the need for AU and EU to agree to reinforce close cooperation in addressing the conflicts.
"It is however also clear that these crisis situations can not be managed without a regional framework and that neighboring countries and relevant regional organizations play a crucial role in the stabilization process, together with national and local buy-in," said Walter.
"Our cooperation should thus extend to a strengthened coordination and a common approach between the EU and Africa on the ground, as well as at the regional levels, in the planning and conduct of conflict prevention and peace support activities in cooperation, and with the United Nations," he said.
