China hosts 2nd Horn of Africa Peace Conference

ANKARA

China said on Tuesday that it is willing to collaborate with countries in the "Horn of Africa" to advance the initiative for "peaceful development in the region," with a focus on the three main goals of security, development, and governance, state media reported.

“Together, we aim to promote peace, cooperation, and progress, helping transform the Horn of Africa into a corner of peace, cooperation, and prosperity," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said.

She was responding to questions about the second Horn of Africa Peace Conference in Beijing on Monday.

The conference, the second of its kind, was attended by officials from China and African countries who pledged to push forward bilateral cooperation to achieve more results and benefit both sides’ peoples.

The event was attended by Vice Foreign Minister Chen Xiaodong, Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Affairs Xue Bing, representatives from the Ministry of Commerce and the China International Development Cooperation Agency, and senior officials and diplomats from the foreign ministries of Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Uganda.

"Since the Initiative of Peaceful Development in the Horn of Africa was proposed more than two years ago, China has worked hand in hand with countries in the Horn of Africa, focusing on the three main goals of 'security, development, and governance,' to support regional peace and development through concrete actions," Chen said.

China is willing to continue to be a partner on the path to peace with the Horn of Africa countries, guided by the Global Security Initiative, to build a “comprehensive security” framework with a broad vision of peace, and to be a pioneer in maintaining peace, he said.

Beijing, he added, is eager to collaborate with the countries of the Horn of Africa to transform the region into a horn of peace, development, and prosperity, while also building a high-level China-Africa community with a shared future.

All parties agreed to focus on the five areas of peace, security, development, cooperation, and governance to advance bilateral cooperation and achieve new results that benefit both sides' peoples.

The Initiative of Peaceful Development in the Horn of Africa is a Chinese solution proposed by China at the beginning of 2022 to assist the peace and development process in the Horn of Africa.

The first such conference was held in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa in June 2022.