The Mano River Union (MRU) Secretariat and the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), will hold a two-day high-level Ministers of Defense and Chiefs of Defense Staff of the military and security meeting in Monrovia
The meeting will run from from 24 to 25 May 2021.
The objective of the meeting is to enhance cross border cooperation of Member States in the MRU region and ensure a common approach to addressing terrorism and other growing security threats at the frontiers especially in the context of the COVID 19 pandemic, and to review the gaps in the revised 15th protocol on Peace, Security, and Defense of the MRU so as to properly situate the regional security architecture within the framework of current realities in the sub region.
Liberia’s Dee Maxwell-Saah Kemanya, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Liberia, Ambassador Medina A. Wesseh, Secretary-General of the MRU, Annadif Khatir Mahamat Saleh, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General (SRSG) for West Africa and the Sahel, and representatives of ECOWAS, Members of the Diplomatic and Consular corps in Liberia as well as, Representatives from the UN System in the sub region.
The Ministers of Defense and Chiefs of Defense Staff of MRU Member States, the Speaker of the House of Representative, the President Pro Tempore of the Honorable House of Senate and Senators and Representatives related to the subject matter are expected to attend.
In spite of the COVID-19 pandemic, the development of a robust sub-regional plan of action to address the growing threats of terrorism and other security related issues in the MRU space with a formidable road map for peace, security, economic and regional integration. Participants nevertheless are also expected to review the threat assessment pose by the COVID-19 pandemic as a significant constraint to the region’s economic growth and development.
Participants will further review the joint approach involving UNOWAS, MRU, ECOWAS, development partners and the United Nations especially WHO on response to the pandemic so as to ease tensions between and amongst Member States of the MRU on the deployment of the coronavirus vaccines and the need for more support to the sub-region.
The high level meeting in the Liberian Capital Monrovia is expected to last for two days will be attended in persons as well as by all UN Resident Coordinators virtually in all four member states of the sub region.
Comments are closed.