Region | Somalia
Africa must lead anti-piracy fight, says Nato chief
Nato is committed to helping improve security in Africa but expects African states to take the lead in fighting piracy off the continent's shores, Nato Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said late on Wednesday.
- Agencies
- Published: 14:06 November 20, 2008
Accra: Nato is committed to helping improve security in Africa but expects African states to take the lead in fighting piracy off the continent's shores, Nato Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said late on Wednesday.
De Hoop Scheffer was responding to a call by Ghana's defence minister for closer collaboration between African regional bodies and Nato to combat piracy off Africa's coasts and tackle other security problems such as money laundering.
The Nato chief spoke during an international alert over piracy off the Horn of Africa, where Somali pirates have caused havoc in one of the world's busiest shipping lanes connecting Europe to Asia and the Middle East.
"This continent still has many problems, but it is my strong conviction that Africans should be in the lead to find solutions for those problems, and not others," de Hoop Scheffer said after arriving in Ghana on Wednesday.
"I do think that Nato could do a lot in being instrumental, for instance, by intensifying training for the African Union standby force to enrich their experience, which could then be used to reach out appropriately where it is needed to solve Africa's problems," he said.
Ghanaian Defence Minister Albert Kan-Dapaah called for closer collaboration between the African Union and sub-regional organisations like the Economic Community of West African States in particular to fight a rise in piracy off West Africa.
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