The Commanding General of the US Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF), Major General Andrew Gainey, has reiterated that it is essential for military leaders to build innovative solutions to address shared security challenges.

He said that Ghana continues to contribute to peacekeeping and enforced security across nations and that it is time for other African countries to collaborate for mutual benefits to address the underlining security threats in the region.

“The African Land Forces Summit is essential to building innovative solutions to address shared security challenges. I want to extend my thanks to our co-hosts, the Ghana Armed Forces, for their exceptional partnership.

"They have set the stage for a successful summit, and I look forward to a productive and impactful week with all our guests," he stated.

Delivering an address at the opening of the 13th African Land Forces Summit in Accra, Major General Gainey called on military leaders to use the summit to optimise forces, and build stronger bonds which can help eradicate threats to security in the African land forces and beyond.

He added that the summit will strengthen cooperation, while tasking the participants to build relationships that can translate into addressing pertinent issues in the security system

The opening ceremony, slated from Monday April 7 to Thursday 9, 2025, brought about forty African nations and 11 other nations from parts of the world together to discuss, collaborate, connect and find lasting solutions to the ongoing insecurities among nations, especially in Africa.

The U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF) and the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) are co-hosting the summit, which has been hosted previously in the United States (2010 & 2022), Uganda (2012), Senegal (2015), Tanzania (2016), Malawi (2017), Nigeria (2018), Botswana (2019), Ethiopia (2020), Cote d’Ivoire (2023), and Zambia (2024).

The theme for this year’s summit is "Optimising Land Forces for The Emerging Security Environment."

During the summit, senior land force leaders from African nations will have the opportunity to build and strengthen relationships, exchange information on current topics of mutual interest, and encourage cooperation in addressing challenges.

ALFS is an annual summit that brings together land force commanders from across Africa, other partner nations, academics, and other government leaders.

VA/AE

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