Tanzania participates in the 14th Annual Joint Consultative Meeting between the European Union Political and Security Committee and the African Union Peace and Security Council

The United Republic of Tanzania in its capacity of member of the African Union Peace and Security Council took part in the 6^th Informal Joint Retreat between the European Union Political and Security Committee (EU PSC) and the African Union Peace and Security Council (AU PSC) and the 14^th Annual Joint Consultative Meeting between the EU PSC and the AU PSC held on 2^nd and 3^rd May 2023 respectively in Brussels, Belgium. 

Tanzania was represented by H.E. Ambassador Innocent E. Shiyo, Permanent Representative of the United Republic of Tanzania to the African Union. The meetings are organized within the framework of Article 17 of the Protocol Relating to the Establishment of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union, and the AU – EU partnership. 

During the 6^th Informal Joint Retreat, the EU PSC and the AU PSC recalled the EU-AU long-standing engagement on peace and security premised on the principle of “African solutions to African problems”. They recalled both the EU’s and AU’s commitment to foster cooperation through support for adequate training, capacity building and equipment, for the EU to strengthen and scale up peace operations of individual African country defence and security forces, including through EU missions and assistance measures, as well as support for law-enforcement capacity-building. 

They reiterated their commitment to adequate, predictable and sustainable financing of AU-led peace support operations (PSOs) and the AU’s and EU’s support to the use of UN-assessed contributions for AU-led operations authorised by the UN Security Council, and the implementation of the AU human rights compliance framework in that context. Both sides commended the role played by sub-regional organisations in preventing conflicts and defending the rule of law and stressed the need to further support this role. They also recalled the EU’s and AU’s shared commitment to the implementation of the Women, Peace and Security, Children and Armed Conflict and the Youth, Peace and Security Agendas.

During the 14^th Annual Joint Consultative Meeting, the EU PSC and the AU PSC discussed the common security challenges in Africa, focussing on the situation in the Horn of Africa, the Great Lakes region, the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin. They reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthening their strategic partnership and cooperation in the promotion of peace, security and stability in Africa and Europe. Furthermore, they stressed the importance of holistically addressing the structural root causes and drivers of conflict and instability on the basis of the nexus between peace, security and development paying specific attention to the circumstances of youth, women and other vulnerable groups.