Sub-region urged to tackle emerging security threats
Air Vice Marshall Michael Sampson-Oje, Chief of Air Staff, has called for political commitment in developing policies, strategies and systems to strengthen regional cooperation in tackling emerging security threats.
He said currently security issues transcended national borders and as such there was the need to tackle the threat head on.
Air Vice Marshall Sampson-Oje was speaking at the closing ceremony of the Regional Air Chiefs Symposium-2013 in Accra on Thursday.
The three-day conference was attended by a number of air chiefs and senior military officers from 12 countries including Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Mauritania and Niger.
The rest were Nigeria, Senegal, Togo, Uganda, Ghana and the USAF Africa/Europe.
Air Vice Marshall Sampson-Oje stated the conference had broadened the horizon of participants and placed them in a stead to appreciate the various regional and sub-regional emerging and existing threats from non-state actors which sought to displace organized political, economic and social systems.
He said as professionals from various armed forces they were expected to always prepare for war and conflict the nature of which was becoming complex each passing day.
He said while some fundamental attributes of warfare tended to remain constant, technological advancements as well as socio-economic changes created variables that bore the potential of altering established concept of warfare.
Air Vice Marshall Sampson-Oje also commended the participants for the readiness with which they engaged themselves in intellectual discourse and to share ideas and expertise.
He said the conference had also allowed the participants to refresh and enhance the knowledge and understanding of critical security issues, adding that dialogue should continue at the institutional, individual and professional levels.
“I ask that we keep the lines of communication open in order that opportunities for mutual benefit shall open up for the whole of Africa” he added.
Air Vice Marshall Sampson-Oje further charged the participants to continue to draw on the recommendations and lessons of the symposium.
Lieutenant General Craig Franklin, Commander, 3rd Air Force and 17th Expeditionary Air Force, Ramstein Air Base, Germany commended Ghana for hosting the conference successfully.
He stressed the need for countries in the region to work together to enable them solve their common challenges.
He charged the participants to take action on the various resolutions reached at the conference.
Source: GNA