“Promoting prosperity and security in Africa is in our national interest” – British High Commissioner, Ghana
Accra, 23rd April, 2018: Defence management and how nations design their strategies and policies is key to setting the appropriate framework for the successful delivery of defence and security.
The world’s security environment has been recently exposed to a range of threats. Boko Haram in Nigeria, Al Shabaab in Somalia and other extremist groups in the Sahel with an expansion of their deadly activities, as seen in Cote d’Ivoire, Mali, Niger and very recently again in Burkina Faso all threaten security and challenge the rules-based international system. In Europe, tension over the situation in Ukraine, the management of the migrant crisis and an extant terrorist threat, which has struck in Paris, Brussels and London, still remain serious concerns.
It is in this regard that inter-agency cooperation, policies and reforms aimed at maintaining the professionalism, efficiency and effectiveness of the security and defence sectors are necessary.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Managing Defense in a Wider Security Context Course (MDWSC), the British High Commissioner to Ghana, H. E. Iain Walker stated that,
“The UK government believes that it is in our national interest to promote prosperity and security in Africa. We value our relationship with our partners – who we wish to see stable, prosperous and secure. That is why we work to support partners in addressing challenges and why we seek to maximize the opportunities of each of our African partners”.
In his final words, he mentioned that collective dialogue and collaborative management of issues are key to finding solutions to cross-border threats and addressing the security and defense challenges faced by all nations. Brigadier General Irvine Aryeetey, Deputy Commandant of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre indicated that, “the course is one of such programmes that has been carefully put together to train members of the defence and security sectors and equip them with the skills and knowledge needed to facilitate their contribution to the development, implementation and review of national security and defence policies”.
In its seventh consecutive year, the course is one of the United Kingdom’s flagship defence courses designed to increase knowledge, share best practices and stimulate debate on a variety of issues linked to the management of defence.
This year’s edition brought together the security sector and other civil society organizations from Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, the Gambia, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Togo. In addition, there are facilitators from Cranfield University and the British Defence Academy.
The course was officially opened by Major (Rtd) Derrick Oduro, Deputy Defence Minister, Ghana.