Institute for Peace and Security Studies

You can’t have #AfCFTA without free movement.” - Amb. @MaureenAAchieng . Trade informality at our borders should not be criminalized, but maximized for regional integration and peace. #TradeForPeace #TanaForum2026

Tana Forum, in partnership with Bahir Dar University (@bduethiopia), successfully convened a Vice Chancellors’ Dialogue on 23 October 2026 at Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, on  From Knowledge Consumers to Knowledge Producers: The Role of African Universities in Shaping Africa’s Future. The Dialogue took place on the margins of the 12th Tana High-Level Forum on Security in Africa. Ms @FerialZoheb, Policy Dialogues and Strategic Partnership Coordinator at the @IPSS_Addis, delivered the closing remarks on behalf of Ms @LettieLongwe, Director of Africa Peace and Security Programme (APSP); Head of the Tana Forum Secretariat at IPSS. In her remarks, Ms Zoheb expressed her appreciation to Bahir Dar University and its team for their commitment, dedication, and valuable contributions towards the successful organisation of the Dialogue. The event provided an important platform for engagement and exchange among university leaders, reinforcing the role of higher education institutions in advancing dialogue and addressing Africa’s peace and security challenges.

Peace is not always neat or straightforward. "Peace is a messy process," notes Dr. Ibrahim Sakawa Magara. It requires negotiation, persistence, and finding common ground. Redefining peace in a shifting world means embracing the messiness. #Peacebuilding #TanaForum2026

Lasting peace cannot be made in isolation. External interventions will fail without understanding the socio-economic and political realities of the Horn of Africa. As H.E. @reda_getachew noted: Context matters. #HornOfAfrica #RegionalCooperation #TanaForum2026

Peace and economy are not separate agendas.” At the #TanaForum, H.E. Évariste Ndayishimiye (@GeneralNeva), President of the Republic of Burundi - Current Chairperson of the African Union, reminded us that sustainable peace requires true integration across Africa. We cannot fund our future without peace, and we cannot have peace without economic sovereignty. #TanaForum2026 #Africa

Our closing high-level panel on Charting Africa’s Geopolitical and Economic Future synthesized key debates on economic sovereignty, technology, trade integration, and institutional leadership. Moderated by H.E. Michelle Ndiaye (@MichelleNdiaye1), the final session featured urgent, actionable insights from H.E. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (@GEJonathan), H.E. Hailemariam Dessalegn (@HMDessalegn), and Hon. Dr. Kaire Mbuende (@NPC_Namibia).

Economic sovereignty requires the control of resources and raw materials for the betterment of societies in the continent. - Hon. Dr. Kaire Mbuende, Director-General of the Namibia National Planning Commission. #TanaForum2026

"We need to focus on the essential role of accelerated integration due to shifting conflict and geopolitical dynamics in Africa." – H.E. Hailemariam Dessalegn, Former Prime Minister of Ethiopia.

Closing High Level Panel: Charting Africa’s Geopolitical and Economic Future "Technology and industrialization are an integral part of economic sovereignty in Africa." — His Excellency Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR, GCON and former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. #TanaForum2026

His Excellency recommends looking back at indigenous technologies in Africa rather than borrowing or consuming technological production from abroad.

H.E. Dr. Abdel Fatau Musah, Governance, Peace and Security Expert and Former Commissioner for Political Affairs Peace and Security, ECOWAS recommended the following policy options; 1. Reducing the cost of registering businesses 2. Promoting non-tariff barriers across the continent 3. Moving towards stable currencies through cashless economies 4. Not criminalize informalities, but maximizing the positive gains from informal traders. #TanaForum2026

The free movement of people, cross-border trade and infrastructural development for regional integration across Africa is critical for the continent to move forward. — H.E. Dr. Abdel Fatau Musah, Former Commissioner for Political Affairs Peace & Security, ECOWAS. 🌍 #TanaForum2026

At Session III, ICRC Regional Director for Africa Mamadou Sow highlighted three vital takeaways on illicit economies: controlling weapons across porous borders, preventing arms from falling into the wrong hands, and ensuring all warring parties strictly respect international humanitarian law. #TanaForum2026

"Africa hosts 40% of the 130 conflicts globally, while non-state armed groups operating in the continent control 110 million territories that they operate in." — Mr. Mamadou Sow, ICRC Regional Director for Africa, presenting the state of conflicts for consideration by the AU and humanitarian agencies.

Africa's communal agency in violent conflict setting, explores how communal grass-root institution contributes to humanitarian aid and survival under the conditions of state abandonment and violent conflicts in Africa, taking the example of Sudan. - Lita Wanjiru Ngure, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK #TanaForum2026

The AU Post-conflict and reconstruction policies, #AfCFTA, and member states should document and recognise grass-root organisation in disaster reduction and resource allocation in times of violence.

The lived realities of informal but legitimate cross-border small- scale traders and their significant role in sustaining livelihood, regional integration and peace in the continent. - Fadzai Nyamarebvu, International University of Management (IUM), Windhoek, Namibia.