President Reaffirms Ethiopia’s Commitment to Maintain Int’l Peace, Security

 December 8/2022 (ENA)  TPresident Sahle-Work Zewde has reaffirmed Ethiopia’s commitment to contribute to the maintenance of international peace and security.

She made the remark at the 24th Eastern Africa Police Chiefs Cooperation Organization (EAPCCO) general meeting underway here in Addis Ababa.

Attended by 14 Eastern African countries, the meeting is being held under the theme “promoting best policing practices in the fight against terrorism and transnational organized crime in EAPCCO region and beyond.”

During the occasion, President Sahle-Work said Ethiopia has been working to maintain peace in the region and prevent transnational crimes in the region.

“Ethiopia has been an active participant in the global counter terrorism efforts, and it is committed to enhancing law enforcement cooperation and international security,” she stated, citing Ethiopia’s troop contribution both to the African Union and United Nations.

The president said that the region has been facing many challenges in terms of transnational organized crimes, including terrorism, cyber-crimes, human trafficking, among others, which are serious threats to regional border integrity and economic development at large.

“Due to the fact that our regional and continental security cooperation is critical to the global law enforcement, we need to work hard for our law enforcement agencies to be more innovative and proactive to fight cross border crimes and minimize security threats.”

Ethiopian Federal Police Commissioner-General, Demelash Gebremikael, who received the presidency of the Union from DRC stated that the future focus of the organization will be strengthening cooperation between member countries.

He also said that conducting joint operation in the fight against organized crime and providing collective solutions to the issues raised by member countries as well as building the capacity of police officers will be the other focus areas.

INTERPOL representative at the African Union, Francis Xavier expressed his organization’s readiness to further help secure the region from the threats of terrorism and transnational organized crimes through sustainable operational support.

The Eastern Africa Police Chiefs Cooperation Organization is a regional police body whose membership consists of chiefs of police of 14 countries.

It is comprised of Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Sudan, South Sudan, DRC, Djibouti, Somalia, Seychelles, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, Comoros, and Burundi.

The Eastern Africa Police Chiefs Cooperation Organization was established in 1998 in Kampala with the aim of harmonizing, strengthening police co-operation and joint strategies, sharing of crime related information and harmonization of laws in order to enhance the capacity of law enforcement agencies to combat transnational organized crime.