Africa’s potential is both unmatched and untapped. Today, the continent is home to at least half of the fastest growing economies of the world. It is rich in resources and is riding a wave of urbanization, industrialization and economic diversification. Its importance in the global economy is expected only to rise, both as a market and as an engine of global growth. Moreover, the continent is the youngest region of the world. By 2030, one in every five people in the world will live in Africa.

This great promise, however, is under threat; undermined by a myriad of crises, challenges and risks to peace, security and development. The continent remains the most burdened with conflict in the world, with staggering costs in blood and treasure. Conflict continues to inflict devastating human suffering, damage economies and social fabrics, and destroy physical infrastructure.

Moreover, the numbers of migrants, refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) are at record highs. The menace of terrorism is also on the rise. By exploiting weaknesses and vulnerabilities of weak states and conflict zones, terrorist organizations are now able to seize and hold territory; a dramatic transformation with unsettling consequences. Equally alarming is the convergence of terrorist and criminal organizations into a new and hybrid threat, that recognizes no borders.

While similar in some respects to old challenges that the continent has faced, today’s conflicts and threats to peace, security and development in Africa are unique in many ways. First, their concurrence, frequency and sheer size are unprecedented. Second, they don’t necessarily lend themselves to traditional ways of settling and resolving conflicts. Third, they expose serious weaknesses, vulnerabilities and shortcomings of the continent’s security structures and mechanisms. Moreover, they are happening at a time of shaking global structures, in a world distracted by a plethora of other ongoing and potential crises.

In these testing times, Africa can count on the efforts of none, but itself. It is, indeed, the responsibility of this generation of African leaders, policymakers and intellectuals to provide the home-grown solutions that the continent so desperately needs, to protect the present and secure the future for generations to come.

As the Chairman of the African Union, Egypt is taking the initiative to launch this conversation. Under the auspices of H.E. Abdelfattah el-Sisi, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Aswan Forum for Sustainable Peace and Development will provide the first of its kind platform to address these inseparable issues.

The Forum, to be held in December of every year, will bring together heads of states and governments, leaders from national governments, regional and international organizations and financial institutions, the private sector, and civil society, as well as visionaries, scholars, and prominent experts for a context-specific, action-oriented, and forward looking discussion on the threats and challenges, as well as opportunities, ahead.

Grounded in Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want and the search for African Solutions to African Problems, the Inaugural Meeting of the Aswan Forum, to be held on 12-14 December 2019, will be titled: Specifically, the Forum will provide national, regional and international actors and stakeholders with a unique opportunity to:

• take stock of current opportunities and challenges to peace, security and development in Africa;
• develop context specific and action-oriented recommendations and tools to advance the implementation of “sustainable development” and “sustaining peace” agendas in Africa; and
• provide a high-level multi-stakeholder platform to explore new and creative avenues for future cooperation.

An International Advisory Board of African and global eminent personalities will act as the brain trust of the Forum, providing strategic direction. Under the supervision of a National Coordination Committee, headed by the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Cairo International Center for Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding (CCCPA), an African Union Center of Excellence in training, capacity building and research, will act as the Secretariat of the Forum. The Center will be supported by a coalition of African and international think tanks and knowledge partners.

Ahead of the Forum, the “Aswan Peace and Development Report”, will be prepared and shared. The Report is meant as a thought-provoking conversation starter, that will help participants make sense of the most serious development challenges and security concerns, as well as opportunities, in Africa. It will not only contribute to advancing ongoing critical debates, but also scan the horizon for the known unknowns and the unknown unknowns. It is meant as an agendasetter for future action and research on the interlinkages between peace, security and development in Africa.