African Leaders Warn Violence Is Undermining Farming, Education and Development

African leaders and business representatives have discussed how continuing violence is disrupting farming, education and development across the continent at the Alamein Africa Forum in Egypt.

Burundi’s President Evariste Ndayishimiye said insecurity was affecting communities and limiting the ability of countries to plan for the future. He cited the situations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sudan in remarks at the forum.

“Amid insecurity, no farmer goes to the fields anymore. No child goes to school anymore. No institution plans development for its country,” Ndayishimiye said. “We deplore that violence persists on our continent. In DRC, in Sudan, it is an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe.”

His comments linked the security situation to the disruption of essential activities, including agriculture and schooling. The claims about conditions in the affected countries were presented as part of the Burundian president’s remarks.

Call for responsible development

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi told participants that African states have a right to develop and benefit from their natural resources, but said those rights should be exercised with consideration for neighbouring countries.

“There is no doubt that every state has the right to development and to benefit from its natural resources, however, at the same time, this right must be exercised in a responsible manner that does not cause harm to other states,” al-Sisi said. “Our common interests are greater than our differences.”

Egypt is involved in a long-running dispute with Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which Cairo views as a threat to its share of Nile waters. Al-Sisi’s remarks came in the context of wider discussions about relations among African countries and the use of natural resources.

Forum to become biennial

The Alamein Africa Forum was attended by heads of state and business leaders from across Africa. Its areas of focus include infrastructure, trade, agriculture, healthcare, mining, technology and renewable energy.

The forum is set to become a biennial event under an African Union mandate. The announcement establishes a continuing platform for discussions on development priorities and cooperation across the continent.