Kofi Ampeah Woode
Closure was brought to the two-day 2nd International Defence Exhibition and Conference 2024 (IDEC ’24), which had five (5) conference sessions of presentations, discussions, exhibitions and networking.
Closing IDEC ’24 as the Guest of Honour, Ghana’s Defence Minister, and Member of Parliament (MP) for Bimbillah – Mr Dominic Bingab Aduna Nitiwul said, the conference has given great opportunity to understand contemporary threats that face the African continent, and to review the existing regional and sub-regional mechanisms to address these threats.
Valuable propositions and ideas emerged at the conference, with innovative solutions unearthed through the exhibitions, he continued, and hoped that it would ignite further discussions in African lecture rooms, at meetings of regional and sub-regional bodies, and Cabinet Meetings of various governments on the continent.
The Defence Minister said Ghana, as a principal broker within the West African sub-region and African region, is always gratified to play a lead role through platforms such as IDEC, and is always excited to bring together friendly nations, to proffer solutions on complicated peace and security situations.
Mr DBA Nitiwul urged the IDEC ’24 participants to examine the 7-point proposal by the President of Ghana on the opening of the conference, and to consider them for execution in their various countries.
The 7-point strategic proposal to enhance regional mechanisms for addressing contemporary security challenges for Africa are: 1) Strengthening Intelligence Sharing and Coordination; 2) Building Capacity for Peacekeeping and Counter-Terrorism Operations:
Others are 3) Constituting the ECOWAS Standby Force; 4) Enhancing Maritime Security; 5) Promoting Cyber-security Resilience; 6) Addressing Climate-Induced Security Risks; and 7) Fostering Inclusive Governance and Development.
Presenting the outcomes of IDEC ’24, the Chairman of Ghana Army’s Central Planning Committee for IDEC ’24 – Brigadier General (Brig Gen) Yehuza Salifu cited the following as key points, Operational Summary and Recommendations:
On “Understanding the Incidence of Violent Extremism and Terrorism (VET) in West Africa”, various speakers affirmed the need for the establishment of a regional accountability framework, establishment of a coordinated regional border security initiative, strengthening and streamlining regional cooperation, and strengthening counter-narrative and de-radicalization program.
They also agreed on the need for greater collaboration in intelligence sharing, adequate retooling of specialized units of the Armed Forces, while reinforcing good governance benchmarks.
On “The role of African regional and sub-regional bodies in addressing contemporary threats in Africa”, speakers and contributors agreed that it is necessary for Africa to adopt a collective security concept in addressing contemporary threats, while respecting the peculiarities of challenges from country to country.
It was also generally held that both kinetic and non-kinetic approaches were required to deal with security challenges of the continent.
On “Fostering Interagency Cooperation: Integrating Military, Police and Intelligence Forces for Effective Counterinsurgency”, the conference agreed that trust-building and joint training are required for interagency collaboration in all its forms. Furthermore, it was agreed that there is the need to reinforce operational coordination among the agencies.
Then on “Effectiveness of Coexisting Regional Security Mechanisms in Combatting Contemporary Threats in Africa”, contributors stressed the need for political will among national leaders and greater coordination between the African Union and the various sub-regional bodies. It was also agreed that alternative sources of funding was required to carry through common counter terrorism mechanisms.
Dignitaries present at the closing ceremony included the Chief Director, Ministry for Defence – Dr Evans Agbeme Dzikum; Chief of the Defence Staff, Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) – Lieutenant General Thomas Oppong-Peprah; Chief of the Army Staff, Ghana Army – Major General (Maj Gen) Bismarck Kwasi Onwona; Chief of the Naval Staff, Ghana Navy – Rear Admiral Issah Adam Yakubu, Chief of Staff, GAF, General Headquarters – Maj Gen Joseph Prince Osei-Owusu.
By Kofi Ampeah-Woode
