UNGA Reaffirms that West Africa Requires Strong Leadership to Combat Regional Challenges

NEW YORK - Oct. 1, 2014 - PRLog -- October 1, 2014 (New York City, NY) – The 69th United Nations General Assembly concludes this week as the world’s leaders meet in New York to address global and regional challenges. This year a spotlight was placed on West Africa and the various challenges that face its leaders.  West African heads of state and their delegations convened in special sessions to discuss key issues such as corruption, stability, illicit trafficking, Ebola, and human rights.  Togo’s President Faure Gnassingbé continues to be a prominent voice calling for continued progress and revitalization in the region.

“As for my country, Togo, we have solidified our path to stability. Togo is moving forward with restored confidence towards a new horizon,” said Togo’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Robert Dussey, on behalf of President Faure Gnassingbé during his address to the UN General Assembly on Monday. “The sons and daughters of Togo have therefore chosen to build the future in a climate of peace and national harmony.”

In an editorial published by the Foreign Policy Journal (http://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2014/09/29/cooperatio...) on Monday, President Gnassingbé highlighted the need for vision and leadership to confront the numerous challenges facing Africa today.

“At the United Nations General Assembly [last] week, I joined my fellow leaders to debate and find solutions for the most pressing issues affecting global peace, security, and stability. The considerable challenges facing West Africa – the Ebola epidemic, the threat of extremist terrorist groups, vast economic disparities, and illegal trafficking – were among our primary concerns.  What remains clear is that each country has a role to play in strengthening political, economic, and security conditions regionally and around the world,” wrote President Gnassingbé. “In West Africa, we must examine areas where we can be stronger and create a consensus in our society to develop and implement a strategic vision for our future. Togo today is markedly different from the Togo of ten years ago because we took this examination to heart – recognizing that we may be small in size, but great in potential.”

During the Assembly, members of the official Togolese delegation also highlighted the great strides in promoting and protecting the rights of women.

“We have made a commitment to provide more opportunities, particularly in education, for our daughters as well as our sons, which means a better future for all,” said Dédé Ahoéfa Ekoue, Togo’s Minister of Social Action, Women Promotion, and Literacy during an interview with Voice of America on the sidelines of the Assembly. “While there is still more to do, the success that we have already seen encourages us that so much more progress is possible.”

During Minister Dussey’s address to the UN General Assembly, he detailed Togo’s 15 year plan to meet economic and development benchmarks. Togo hopes to partner with the United States in the form of a Millennium Challenge Corporation compact which would provide the tools necessary for Togo to further its recent progress.

Due in part to President Gnassingbé’s leadership in the region, Togo has been selected to host the African Union Maritime Security Summit in 2015. This Summit will bring together government and private sector leaders on the continent to create solutions to fight piracy, illegal trafficking of drugs, arms, and ivory, and to provide a safe and protected passageway for goods and resources.

The recent spread of Ebola in Western Africa was also a prominently discussed topic during the Assembly. Minister Dussey addressed this issue during his speech on Monday. ”I must remind our Assembly of the great threat to humanity that is weighing on the entire African continent—particularly in West Africa—which is the Ebola virus epidemic. Therefore, I am pleased with the adoption of the Security Council of resolution 2177 which deems this disease a threat to international peace and security.”

This information is distributed by CD Global Strategies Group on behalf of the Republic of Togo. More information is available at the US Justice Department in Washington, DC.