Egypt's Ambassador in Libreville Seif Kandil participated on Sunday in the opening of the workshop organised by the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) Commission for members of the ECCAS' Committee of Wise Men, which is composed of former prime ministers and parliament heads. The workshop was dedicated to building the capacity of members of the Panel of Wise Men in the field of preventive diplomacy and mediation in the Central African region In the opening speech of the workshop, Kandil stressed that the establishment of the Panel of Wise Men is an important step towards finding African solutions to African problems, noting that the mechanisms of preventive diplomacy, early warning, mediation, and dispute settlement are prerequisites for the maintenance of security and peace in the Central African region. He added that Egypt is determined to continue providing support to the commission of the ECCAS and its organs to achieve stability in the region. For his part, President of the Assembly Commission Gilberto Verissimo thanked the Egyptian government and the Cairo Centre for Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping, and Peacebuilding (CCCPA) for the support and training of the commission and its administrative bodies, especially in light of the fact that the Committee of the Wise Men plays a major role in mediation efforts in the conflicts in the Central African region. One session of the workshop included a virtual dialogue with Director of the CCCPA Ahmed Abdel Latif in which he discussed the best practices for dispute settlement and issues of maintenance of international peace and security. The session is considered the beginning of a partnership between the CCCPA as one of the African centres of excellence of the African Union and the ECCAS and the activation of its role in the settlement of disputes in Central Africa.
