Cairo, Egypt – CCCPA organized a seminar titled “The African Architecture for Post-Conflict Reconstruction and Development and its Relations to the UN Peacebuilding and Sustainable Peace Agenda”, on 25 May 2017. The event brought together 25 participants, representing the Ministries of Foreign Affairs; Defense; Interior; Justice; Finance; Health; Water Resources and Irrigation; Planning, Monitoring and Administrative Reform; Investment and International Cooperation; and Communication and Information Technology. Also participating were representatives from the Public Prosecution Office, the Information and Decision Support Center, and the African Institute of African Studies and Research-Cairo University, as well as scholars.

The seminar provided a forum for Egyptian officials and scholars to discuss research papers developed by Egyptian scholars on two main topics: International and Regional Experiences with Post-Conflict Reconstruction and Development (PCRD); and Egypt’s Contribution to Peacebuilding in Africa.

H.E. Amgad AbdelGhaffar, Assistant Foreign Minister and Director of the African Organizations and Societies Division, indicated that Egypt’s dual membership in the UN Security Council (UNSC) and the African Peace and Security Council (PSC) represents a unique opportunity for Egypt to bolster its political and economic presence in Africa, adding that the vital role played by CCCPA compliments Egyptian contributions to peacebuilding through knowledge and capacity building in various thematic areas.

Amr Jowaily, Deputy Assistant Foreign Minister for United Nations Affairs, stated that the seminar was a model for the synergies of national and academic efforts aiming to maximize Egypt’s contribution to peacebuilding. Jowaily also indicated that implementation of the international concept of peacebuilding, which relied on sequential stages in past, has changed, especially following the Report of the Advisory Group of Experts on Peacebuilding, which prioritized the concept of sustainable peace. 

Director Ashraf Swelam emphasized the seminar’s main objective as “an opportunity to inform academics and scholars of the priorities, interests and needs of the State in peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction, and to unfold new horizons for the role of scientific research in decision making”. Swelam added that the seminar’s outcomes will support Egypt’s contribution to developing conceptual frameworks for peacebuilding and reconstruction--especially given that Egypt pioneered the concept of peacebuilding at the UN.

Research papers presented during the workshop focused on PCRD lessons learned from both the African and Egyptian experiences.

With regards to regional aspects, the papers highlighted the African vision and the African Union’s PCRD strategy, the challenges facing African endeavors, as well as the African experience in reconstruction and development, including African Union mechanisms and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) efforts.

With regards to Egypt’s contribution to peacebuilding in Africa, the research papers highlighted that Egypt’s endeavors and contribution to African PCRD processes comes as part of its strategic leverage and legitimacy--given its geopolitical status, technical expertise and institutional and social cohesion. The research papers also tackled the PCRD challenges facing the Egyptian State, most notably, coordination with different partners and the lack of field research, suggesting the establishment of a national committee with the aim of synergizing Egyptian efforts in peacebuilding among national stakeholders.