Researchers, Policymakers dialogue on economic integration

Over 70 researchers and policy makers from more than ten different African countries on Thursday gathered in Abuja, the Federal Capital territory of Nigeria for a two-day policy dialogue on how  regional economic communities, like Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), can promote peace in the continent Africa.

Africa’s eight Regional Economic Communities were primarily set up to promote economic integration as they play an increasingly important role also in conflict resolution and peace building in countries like Burundi, Liberia, Sierra Leone and elsewhere in Africa.

A statement by Teofila Infante of the Embassy of Finland quoted Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals Development Kayode Fayemi, as the key note speaker.

“The performance of traditional organizations like the UN has not been impressive. Also, most of the global powers are now retreating from active engagement outside their immediate geographical locations. In this context regional organisations have become increasingly visible in promoting peace and development”, said Professor Victor Adetula, head of research at the Nordic Africa Institute (NAI), who co-organises the event together with the Nigerian Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR) and the African Peace Building Network, in partnership with ECOWAS and IGAD.

Also commenting, Professor Oshita Oshita, Director General of Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR), said: “The purpose of this event is to create links between East and West African experiences, links between research and policy making and links between lessons learned from prior conflicts to future peace building processes. To achieve this we will look from within and gather African scholars to exchange ideas on how we deal with conflict resolution in different African contexts“.

The Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR) is a research centre, a think-tank and an agency to strengthen Nigeria’s capacity for the promotion of peace and conflict prevention, management and resolution while the Nordic Africa Institute (NAI) is a center for research, documentation and information on Africa. It is based in Uppsala, Sweden, and jointly financed by the governments of Finland, Iceland and Sweden. On the other hand, the African Peace building Network (APN) is a part of the US-based non-profit Social Science Research Council (SSRC). APN’s mission is to support independent African research on peace-building and its integration into regional and global policy.