{{President Paul Kagame will join Heads of State of Burundi, Somalia, Sudan and Ethiopia at the second High Level Forum on Security in Africa that begins on Saturday in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. President Kagame is scheduled to give a keynote address that includes a tribute to the vision of late Prime Minister of Ethiopia Meles Zenawi.}}
The two day forum taking place on the shores of Lake Tana will bring together over eighty government officials, civil society organizations and think tanks to explore African owned solutions to the continent’s peace and security challenges.
This year’s theme “Security and Organized Crime in Africa” will address issues including drug and arms trafficking, money laundering, human trafficking, extortion, piracy, poaching, illegal mining, terrorism, extremism and regime destabilization.
At a press conference held Friday morning in Addis Ababa, chairman of the forum and former Nigeria President Olesegun Obasanjo pointed to recent civil disputes and border conflicts on the continent as topics of concern within this year’s theme of and urged all African countries to contribute to the security of the continent and create a better future for Africa.
During the forum’s inauguration last year, then Prime Minister Zenawi, one of the founders and among the main advocates of the Tana Forum, spoke of his aspirations for the annual gathering:
“The hope and expectation is that this new institution will grow from strength to strength every year to rival and even surpass the only similar institution that I know, the Munich Security Conference. I am sure I can count on your support and advocacy so that it will become an institution that we are all proud of.”
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