PHOTO: MRU Defense officials
By Augustine Octavius, augustineoctavius@gmail.com
Defense Ministers and military chiefs of the Mano River Union basin have begun a two-day meeting aimed at discussing preventing the spread of terrorism into the Mano River Union basin and setting a joint response to the growing security threats in the Liberian capital, Monrovia
The meeting, under the theme: “A Sub- Regional Approach in Addressing Growing Security and Terroristic Threats,” has brought together military chiefs and Defense Ministers from Ivory Coast, Guinea, Sierra Leone and host Liberia.
Delivering the keynote speech, Foreign Minister, Dee Maxwell Kemayah, disclosed that the MRU basin has witnessed growing cross border threats from terrorist groups purposely to test the resilience of the people in the region.
According to him, considering the porous nature of the borders of MRU member-states, none of the states can boast of national security and there is a need for the military chiefs to deliberate and come out with a blueprint for onward transfer to the heads of states for their considerations.
Foreign Min. Kemayah
“We have to pursue a collective efforts as a sub region in order to succeed in addressing the growing security and terroristic threats the region faces,”
He added: “It is about time that we engage in a win-win cooperation, not a zero-sum game.”
“The more complex the war on terrorism becomes, the grater the need for collective response , solidarity and unity.”
“In doing so, dialogue and cooperation are strongly recommended on the basis of equality and mutual respect amongst all member states and no member state should be left behind in the fight against terrorism.” The Liberian Foreign Minister said.
“We must work together to further enhance the security of our borders and ensure that we achieve the much needed security and prosperity we are seeking.”
He expressed the hope that the ministers and military chiefs are the experts that can draw up the roadmap to achieving their objectives because it is concerning the enhancement and sustenance of peace and security in the MRU region.
“The true meaning of regionalism to me is taking action and finding solutions and it is the member-states in the region that should collectively show their readiness in the fight against terrorism and act to immediately contain it.”
“This is necessary so that it does not ring-fence and risk drags our region into a spiral of violence with devastating consequences.”
Minister Kemayah maintained that member states are fully aware that fight against terrorism is not a job which can be undertaken by one single agency because it requires team effort and inputs from wide range of national and international agencies; including the law enforcement agencies, the military, the intelligence services , the financial sector, the diplomatic service and health organizations.
In remarks, the Secretary General of the Mano River Union, Madina Wesseh, said the aim of the meeting is to jointly work out a common approach in addressing cross border activities that are geared towards threatening the peace, promoting terrorism and other dangerous crimes.
Amb. Medina Wesseh
According to her, the cross border trade mostly done in the Mano River Union and West African regions is been undermined and threatened by the new waives of terrorism surfacing in the entire region.
“With our engagement with the UN Office of Counter Terrorism, we need to revive the regular meeting of the technical committee which is comprised of the Ministers of Defense , military Chiefs of Staff , Chiefs of Police and other national security structures purposely to have a robust network for the exchange of relevant information and intelligence among the MRU member states.”
She added that this is necessary so that discussion at the most strategic level in order to build trust and confidence among the MRU member states to ensure that the region remains peaceful and stable for economic growth and development in order to transform the lives of the estimated 50 million people in this region.
Ambassador Wesseh indicated that it is about time that member states of the MRU institutionalize the various units and optimize their functions by allotting funding their operations in the respective national budgets.
“We must also consider the establishment of the joint security patrol unit to man out porous borders in order to avoid infiltration by terrorists especially roaming the Sahel and causing security challenges in Nigeria, Chad, Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali.”
She stressed the need for the introduction of a single biometric identification cards for the citizens of the MRU countries to help identification of the people entering the MRU region.
Earlier in welcome remarks, Liberia’s Defense Minister, Daniel Ziankahn, said the meeting gave the military chiefs and Defense Ministers of the MRU countries to abreast themselves about the security challenges in the region and come out with a workable solution to mitigate these threats and advance situations.