<\/p>\n
C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire and the African Union (AU) Commission will jointly host the third Abidjan Border Forum from October 20 to October 22 at the Abidjan Exhibition Centre.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The event will be held under the theme \u201cBorder Communities: Culture, Integration and Security\u201d.<\/p>\n
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C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire Prime Minister Robert Beugr\u00e9 Mamb\u00e9 and AU Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf are expected to open the Forum.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Participants will include policymakers from AU Member States, regional organisations, border-management agencies, development partners, researchers and representatives of border communities.<\/p>\n
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Discussions will examine how culture can transform borders from barriers into bridges and how cross-border cooperation can support the movement and integration of people, territories and economies.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Delegates will also consider border security, local knowledge, delimitation and demarcation processes and the role of communities in stabilising border areas.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Forum aims to identify gaps between regional policies and implementation, highlight successful cross-border initiatives and develop practical recommendations for national and continental border governance.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The gathering is guided by the AU principle that borders inherited at independence should remain inviolable to preserve peace, stability and cooperation among countries.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Forum also draws on the 2007 African Union Border Programme, the 2014 Niamey Convention on cross-border cooperation and the 2020 AU Strategy for Better Integrated Border Governance.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The first Forum in 2022 focused on borders and collective security, calling for diplomacy and negotiation to resolve disputes and greater participation by women and young people.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The second gathering in 2024 examined green borders, shared natural resources, environmental pressures and security.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The latest meeting will seek to place border communities at the centre of policies supporting development, cultural exchange and peaceful coexistence.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire President Alassane Ouattara and Youssouf are providing political oversight for the gathering.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Ivorian Musician Alpha Blondy, the Forum\u2019s Brand Ambassador, will close the event with a performance at the Abidjan Exhibition Centre on October 22.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–AU\/ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":38080,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[78,26],"class_list":["post-48445","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-featured","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"More than 2 000 delegates will gather in Abidjan to discuss how African border communities can strengthen regional integration, security and economic development.","published_date":"","news_description":"More than 2 000 delegates will gather in Abidjan to discuss how African border communities can strengthen regional integration, security and economic development.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/48445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/48445\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48448,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/48445\/revisions\/48448"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38080"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=48445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}