The 5th Tana High-Level Forum on Security in Africa, also known as the “Tana Forum”, took place on 16-17 April 2016, in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, on the theme: Africa in the Global Security Agenda. It is gratifying that in less than half a decade, the Tana Forum has established itself as a platform for frank, rigorous, informal, constructive and ‘no-holdsbarred’ dialogue on common security challenges in Africa, and how best to sustainably address them in the short, medium and long terms. Given the range, salience and seriousness of the issues discussed, as well as the sheer diversity of participants, the Tana Forum is quickly maturing into an authentic African brand, with the requisite intellectual credentials to interrogate some of the most pressing peace and security challenges facing Africa, and by extension, the world. It offers a Pan-African platform that is truly plural and enriching. Once again, this year’s Forum attracted eminent participants from different countries, sectors and institutions
across Africa and beyond. With eleven incumbent and former African Heads of State in attendance, and the first non-African former President of Timor-Leste, H.E. Jose Ramos-Horta. This year’s event also featured a keynote address from the Chair of the Kofi Annan Foundation and former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Kofi Annan. The theme for the 5th Tana Forum, Africa in the Global Security Agenda, was set against the backdrop that as much as three-quarters of today’s global peace support operations are located in Africa.
