A Moroccan delegation, led by Ismail Chekkouri, the Director of Global Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, participated in the High-Level African Meeting on Counterterrorism entitled, “Reinforcing Regional Cooperation and Institutions to Address the Evolving Terrorist Threat in Africa,” held in Abuja, Nigeria, on April 22-23.
Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Nigeria’s Head of State, chaired the conference’s opening. The presidents of Ghana and Togo were also in attendance, as well as the Chairman of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat.
The summit comprised a joint effort between the Nigerian government and the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), as it sought to build upon topics emanating from a previous ministerial meeting held in 2023.
The two-day conference involved 32 African nations, with representation at the ministerial and national security advisor levels.
As it intended to combat terrorism and violent extremism, participants included officials from regional African organizations, foreign partners, UN Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact agencies, and civil society partners.
The gathering looked to strengthen multilateral collaboration in counterterrorism and to redefine the international community’s approach to terrorism in Africa, with a priority on African-led solutions, regional security, and peace.