Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Co-operation and Egyptian Expatriates, Badr Abdelatty, has called for the revitalisation of the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD), stressing the need to translate regional co-operation into practical initiatives that promote security, stability and sustainable development across the region.
Abdelatty made the remarks while delivering Egypt’s statement at the 22nd Ordinary Session of CEN-SAD’s Executive Council, held in Tripoli, Libya, on Saturday.
He emphasised the importance of intensifying joint efforts to address growing security challenges, particularly terrorism and transnational organised crime, while strengthening the Community’s specialised mechanisms, foremost among them the CEN-SAD Counter-Terrorism Centre, which is headquartered in Cairo.
He highlighted Egypt’s efforts to establish and equip the Centre’s permanent headquarters and support its training programmes.
In his address, Minister Abdelatty stressed that the priority should be to restore the organisation’s institutional effectiveness, moving beyond the resumption of meetings towards implementing practical programmes with measurable results.
He also called for transparent and sustainable financial arrangements, reliable resources and full compliance by member states with their financial obligations.
Abdelatty reaffirmed Egypt’s support for strengthening CEN-SAD and its continued co-operation with member states and the Executive Secretariat in capacity building, expertise exchange and counter-terrorism.
He underscored the importance of achieving tangible outcomes that revitalise the organisation’s institutions and reinforce its contribution to regional security, stability, development and integration, in line with the aspirations of the region’s peoples.
