\u2014 By Seydou M\u2019BOH<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the Abdou Diouf International Conference Center in Diamniadio, the atmosphere at the 10th Dakar International Forum on Peace and Security in Africa carried both urgency and resolve. For two days, on April 20 and 21, 2026, Africa\u2019s political and security leaders gathered under one roof as the continent\u2019s security challenges deepened across several regions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From the Sahel to coastal states, from political tensions to rising extremist threats, the discussions reflected a shared concern: Africa is at a turning point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Under the theme \u201cAfrica Facing the Challenges of Stability, Integration, and Sovereignty: What are the Sustainable Solutions?\u201d<\/em> the conversations went beyond speeches and formal declarations. They focused on a question that now sits at the center of African diplomacy \u2014 how can the continent secure itself on its own terms?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye described the moment as a \u201ctransition to action,\u201d urging African states to reduce dependence on external military systems and strengthen their own coordinated response to crises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Leaders, including Julius Maada Bio and Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, joined high-level exchanges on terrorism, sovereignty, and regional stability, while the presence of Niger\u2019s Prime Minister Ali Lamine Zeine highlighted ongoing debates around the evolving security architecture in the Sahel and ECOWAS space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A guiding idea kept resurfacing throughout the Forum: \u201cactive sovereignty.\u201d It is the belief that Africa must not only defend its territory, but also define its own security priorities, tools, and partnerships. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Participants stressed three urgent needs \u2014 stronger African financing for peace operations, improved cybersecurity systems to protect critical infrastructure, and a return to preventive diplomacy rooted in African traditions of dialogue and mediation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the closing session, delegates called for deeper intelligence-sharing mechanisms and proposed an African observatory to track hybrid threats such as cyberattacks and disinformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As the Forum ended in Diamniadio, the message was clear and consistent: Africa is no longer content to be a space where security strategies are applied from outside. It is increasingly determined to become the author of its own stability, step by step, on its own terms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":1124,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[10,91],"tags":[95,92,93,33,100,96,94,98,99,97],"class_list":["post-1127","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-peace-security","tag-active-sovereignty","tag-africa-peace-and-security","tag-african-security","tag-african-union","tag-bassirou-diomaye-faye","tag-cicad-dakar","tag-dakar-forum-2026","tag-regional-stability-africa","tag-security-cooperation-africa","tag-senegal-diplomacy"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n