Horn Countries Need to Make Regional Cooperation Main Focus of Diplomacy

Addis Ababa  November 18/2023 (ENA) Governments and all concerned stakeholders in the Horn of Africa should strengthen regional cooperation diplomacy in order to ensure lasting peace and sustainable development, Foreign Affairs Institute Senior African Affairs Researcher Gizachew Asrat said. 

The senior researcher noted that conflicts and political instability continue to be a challenge for the countries of the region.

Despite the high geopolitical and strategic importance of the region, the lack of peace and instability is having a negative impact on the development of the region.

According to him, the Horn of Africa, which comprises Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Sudan, South Sudan and Somalia, is an important region for the promotion of regional economic and political sphere.

It is, therefore, important to realize the importance of the geopolitical and economic significance of the region and strive to transform the region based on strong political commitment.

Gizachew added that the Horn has been marred with conflicts and internal political instability that have become major bottlenecks for the peaceful development of the region.

Inability to build strong democratic institutions, economic hurdles, and competition over scarce resource, internal squabbling and insecurity that have continued unabated have become causes for plunging the countries in the region into political crisis, he said.

The countries in the region do not seem to exploit their resources through effective cooperation, and this has to be reversed in order to resolve the outstanding challenges in a more sustainable manner. 

Therefore, promoting peace and stability in the region for regional integration and peaceful development is crucial, Gizachew said. 

The senior researcher believes that regional integration will not be realized without the political commitment of the countries.

The countries should, therefore, have the commitment and interest for the integration to become a reality.

Cooperation and economic integration of countries is key to solving political, economic and social problems in the region.

Gizachew underscored the importance of political commitment of the leadership in the region and the support to be provided from the AU and IGAD to ensure a viable regional union.

Countries in the region should act in unison to resolve threats to the security in the region, terrorism, human trafficking, illegal financial transactions and contraband, he further noted.

It is high time also that the countries in the region committed themselves to putting in place strategies for border administration between the countries.