Tripoli Hosts CEN-SAD Council as 28-Nation Bloc Seeks Overhaul
(MENAFN) Libya opened a high-level meeting of the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD) on Saturday, with the 28-nation bloc weighing a restructuring and a push to revive its institutions.
Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibeh inaugurated the 22nd ordinary session of the organization’s Executive Council in the capital, Tripoli.
Foreign ministers from Egypt, Tunisia, Chad, Djibouti, the Central African Republic, Sierra Leone, Somalia and Guinea-Bissau are attending, alongside heads of delegations from other member states, the state news agency reported.
Hanna Tetteh, the special representative of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for Libya, was also present at the opening, as were several ambassadors and diplomatic mission representatives, according to the news agency.
Talks are expected to center on restructuring the organization, activating its institutions and deepening regional cooperation.
Dbeibeh said he hoped CEN-SAD could become a regional platform that pools efforts against political, security and economic challenges, local media reported. He urged tighter coordination against terrorism, organized crime and irregular migration, and called for more support for border security and regional stability.
Describing the session as an important milestone, he pressed for a timeline to complete moving the executive secretariat to its Tripoli headquarters. He said the region’s security, economic and development problems demand a shift from coordination to effective joint action, with members mobilizing their capabilities and resources for programs that serve their populations.
Dbeibeh also reaffirmed Libya’s pledge to commit its resources to the organization’s work and to African integration.
Earlier Saturday, Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty would hold talks with senior Libyan officials on the sidelines of the council meeting. The agenda includes ways to boost cooperation among members and advance efforts to activate the organization’s mechanisms.
Abdelatty also met Chadian Foreign Minister Abderaman Koulamallah on the sidelines. The two discussed strengthening bilateral ties, following up on joint cooperation and exchanging views on regional issues of shared interest. They also explored ways to bolster CEN-SAD’s role, revitalize its institutions and specialized mechanisms, and expand member cooperation on counterterrorism, capacity-building and development to promote peace and security across Africa.
In April, Tripoli hosted a CEN-SAD meeting for the first time since the 2011 overthrow of the late President Muammar Gaddafi.
Founded in Tripoli on Feb. 4, 1998, CEN-SAD comprises 28 African countries across the Sahara and Sahel regions and holds observer status at the United Nations. After Gaddafi’s fall, its secretariat headquarters was relocated from Tripoli to N’Djamena, Chad’s capital.
Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibeh inaugurated the 22nd ordinary session of the organization’s Executive Council in the capital, Tripoli.
Foreign ministers from Egypt, Tunisia, Chad, Djibouti, the Central African Republic, Sierra Leone, Somalia and Guinea-Bissau are attending, alongside heads of delegations from other member states, the state news agency reported.
Hanna Tetteh, the special representative of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for Libya, was also present at the opening, as were several ambassadors and diplomatic mission representatives, according to the news agency.
Talks are expected to center on restructuring the organization, activating its institutions and deepening regional cooperation.
Dbeibeh said he hoped CEN-SAD could become a regional platform that pools efforts against political, security and economic challenges, local media reported. He urged tighter coordination against terrorism, organized crime and irregular migration, and called for more support for border security and regional stability.
Describing the session as an important milestone, he pressed for a timeline to complete moving the executive secretariat to its Tripoli headquarters. He said the region’s security, economic and development problems demand a shift from coordination to effective joint action, with members mobilizing their capabilities and resources for programs that serve their populations.
Dbeibeh also reaffirmed Libya’s pledge to commit its resources to the organization’s work and to African integration.
Earlier Saturday, Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty would hold talks with senior Libyan officials on the sidelines of the council meeting. The agenda includes ways to boost cooperation among members and advance efforts to activate the organization’s mechanisms.
Abdelatty also met Chadian Foreign Minister Abderaman Koulamallah on the sidelines. The two discussed strengthening bilateral ties, following up on joint cooperation and exchanging views on regional issues of shared interest. They also explored ways to bolster CEN-SAD’s role, revitalize its institutions and specialized mechanisms, and expand member cooperation on counterterrorism, capacity-building and development to promote peace and security across Africa.
In April, Tripoli hosted a CEN-SAD meeting for the first time since the 2011 overthrow of the late President Muammar Gaddafi.
Founded in Tripoli on Feb. 4, 1998, CEN-SAD comprises 28 African countries across the Sahara and Sahel regions and holds observer status at the United Nations. After Gaddafi’s fall, its secretariat headquarters was relocated from Tripoli to N’Djamena, Chad’s capital.
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