Speaking at the 12th Annual High-Level Conference on Peace and Security in Africa, currently taking place in Algeria, Mohamed Ali Nafti, Tunisia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Migration, and Tunisians Abroad, delivered an address highlighting several key points:
• Conflicts, in addition to the immense human suffering they cause, impose a heavy economic and social burden due to population displacement, disruption of commercial activity, instability in the business environment, and the destruction of infrastructure. The countries most affected by conflict have recorded GDP declines of up to 30% in a single year.
• Today, he stated, Africa bears the responsibility of building a security framework grounded in cooperation, solidarity, and shared sovereignty. This requires closer coordination among states, stronger preventive diplomacy, intensified military and security cooperation, intelligence-sharing, and the harmonization of national strategies to combat crime and terrorism.
• Lasting security in Africa can only be achieved by strengthening state institutions, modernizing defense and security forces, and investing in education, digital transformation, and the green economy. Combating violent extremism, he added, also requires addressing poverty, marginalization, and the manipulation of vulnerable population groups.
The minister stressed that climate crises, desertification, dwindling water resources, and forced displacement have become major security challenges, as they fuel local conflicts and heighten tensions between communities. For this reason, climate diplomacy must be placed at the core of peacebuilding strategies.
In closing, Nafti emphasized Tunisia’s strong commitment to multilateralism within both the United Nations and African frameworks, as well as to the principles of solidarity and cooperation. He underscored Tunisia’s longstanding dedication to supporting African and international efforts aimed at establishing peace, strengthening security, and promoting stability—particularly in Africa—through its active participation in various peacekeeping missions under the auspices of the UN and the African Union.
He also recalled that Tunisia has represented Africa and spoken on its behalf at the UN Security Council on four occasions, devoting its non-permanent mandates to defending African causes and advocating for a broader, more inclusive approach to peace and security during Council discussions on African situations—one that incorporates development dimensions, drivers of fragility, and underlying factors of violence and conflict.
On the sidelines of the event, Nafti met with Jean-Pierre Lacroix, UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations. Both officials emphasized Tunisia’s commitment to continuing its cooperation with this UN department in order to strengthen the foundations of security and stability across Africa, in line with the principles set out in the UN Charter. For his part, Lacroix commended the outcomes of the UN conference hosted by Tunisia last July, noting that work is ongoing to implement its recommendations.
Lacroix also highlighted the challenges facing global peacekeeping operations—financial, logistical, and digital—while praising the high-level expertise and professionalism consistently demonstrated by Tunisian personnel in fulfilling their assigned missions.
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