Security seminar participants urge African countries to fight terrorism

 Participants at the 4th High-Level Seminar on Peace and Security in Africa, which kicked off on Saturday in the province of Oran, in the west of Algeria, urged African countries to combine their efforts to defeat terrorism and trafficking in the continent.

"We are all convinced of the need to find African solutions to the continent's problems and to implement them in collaboration with the international community," Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra said in his opening notes.

President of the Executive Council of the African Union, Chadian Foreign Minister, Moussa Faki Mahamat suggested in his opening notes that any military action in the fight against terrorism in Africa must be accompanied by concrete political and socio-economic measures.

"The military response to terrorism is necessary, but it must be accompanied by long-term political and socio-economic measures," in a bid to offer good living conditions to the populations and ultimately preventing them from being attracted by extremist groups, Faki Mahamat explained.

The Chadian foreign minister said the resilience of terrorist groups stems from their ability to take advantage of the structural weaknesses of some of our states.

He said this situation encouraged the proliferation of trafficking of all kinds, including narcotics and weapons.

For his part, Angolan Foreign Minister George Chikoti, urged African non-permanent members at the UN Security Council to intensify their joint actions in a bid to effectively contribute in defending the continent's key positions and decisions, including preventing foreign interventions in the African nations' internal affairs.

This three-day meeting sees the participation of foreign ministers of a number of African nations, including Algeria, Angola, Egypt, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Nigeria, Senegal and Chad, in addition to several security experts and international organizations.

Security and peace in the African continent, as well as assessing the implementation of actions are on the agenda of Oran's meeting.

source: Xinhua