At 2nd West Africa Logistics conference: Leaders discuss logistics challenges, opportunities to cooperate in combating insecurity.

The conference jointly hosted by the United States Africa Command and the Cameroon Armed Forces kicked off Thursday, September 19.

Countries and organisations represented at the conference include Benin, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Liberia, Mauritania, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, The Gambia, and the Economic Community of West African States.

The conference is taking place under the theme: "Together we strengthen security through logistics”. 

Speaking at the start of the conference, US Air Force Brigadier General George Dietrich who is Director of Logistics at the US Africa Command, stated that WALC serves as an essential platform for regional collaboration, enabling military and civilian leaders from across the region to discuss shared logistics challenges and identify opportunities for collaboration. 

Building on the success of last year’s WALC in Cote d'Ivoire, this year's event aimed at fostering a deeper, shared understanding of regional logistics challenges, best practices, lessons learned, and opportunities for collaboration. 

For two days, the 2024 WALC, will feature speakers, panels, and partner-led discussions which will allow participants to engage in meaningful dialogue on a broad range of topics, including significant changes and developments in logistics operations, strategic partnerships, and services over the past year.

They will also discuss opportunities for logistics cooperation and institution building and challenges of preparing for and responding to disasters and crises

“Logistics drives everything we do,” stated US Marine Corps General Michael Langley, who is Commander of US Africa Command. 

“Our ability to continue to fight depends on our ability to sustain the fighting force; the ability to respond to humanitarian disaster depends on our ability to deliver supplies quickly to the point of need; and the ability to sustain and rapidly deliver supplies depends on a logistics network or supply system that is always ready to respond,” he said. 

Speaking on behalf of the Chief of Staff of the Cameroon Defence Forces, Air Commander, Brigadier General Eba Eba Bede Benoît, saluted US military cooperation with Cameroon. 

This, he said, has been demonstrated through donations in logistics items, training programme of the Cameroon army. 

He quoted Admiral Henry Eccles's 1959 statement which states that: “Logistics is the bridge between the economy of the Nation and the tactical operations of its combat forces. Obviously then, the logistics system must be in harmony, both with the economic system of the Nation and with the tactical concepts and environment of the combat forces”.

Brigadier General Eba Eba shared the view that the panel discussions will meet the objectives of the conference 

Conference underscores important bilateral ties

In his remarks, the United States Ambassador to Cameroon, Christopher J. Lamora, said the event underscores the close partnership between the Cameroonian Ministry of Defense and US Africa Command. 

He thanked both Generals Melingui Nouma and George Dietrich for their efforts to make this conference possible. 

"Their collaborative engagements over the past few months have underscored our important bilateral ties and the crucial relationships we hope to build upon in the future," he said

The senior diplomat also recognised the Cameroonian Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces for their efforts to address regional security concerns and challenges. 

He cited collaboration with partners in Gulf of Guinea to address piracy and illegal fishing; efforts with their Multinational Joint Task Force, MNJTF, to address threat of terrorism in the Lake Chad Basin; and Cameroon's contributions to Peacekeeping operations in the Central African Republic and elsewhere. 

"Cameroon continues to prove itself as a leader in the Central Africa region. Aside from this conference, US security cooperation with Cameroon remains significant and is growing stronger. Our partnership to enhance Cameroon's maritime domain awareness capability includes nearly 1.2 billion FCFA in programing for equipment, training, and education over the next three years," disclosed the diplomat. 

He said the United States additionally supports Cameroon's mud boat programme and plans to continue the support in the coming years with the arrival of additional boats and training, directly enabling MNJTF operations. 

"We also continue to enable the Cessna 208 programme, providing over 2.9 billion FCFA in spare parts and maintenance support to the Armed Forces' intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance flights in the Far North. We have also conducted in-country training such as Intelligence Preparation of the Battlefield, Countering Improvised Explosive Devices, and Civil-Military Cooperation. Last year, 31 Cameroonian military personnel attended courses in the United States or Europe as part of our International Military Education and Training programme, and we look to increasing that number in the future. We plan to continue our security cooperation relationship as we find ways to support our mutual interests. A key element is to enable Cameroon's capacity to address its security challenges while also reaffirming the importance of human rights and transparency," the diplomat continued.

Cameroon-US relation beyond military ties

Ambassador Lamora told the Douala gathering that in the past two and half years, overall bilateral relationship between the United States and Cameroon has grown both broader and deeper.

He said both countries have collaborated successfully to improve the basic health care of the Cameroonian people such as in the fights against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and other diseases. 

He said together, new economic and investment ties have been forged through a variety of projects between US companies and their Cameroonian partners.

"We have engaged with a cross-section of stakeholders to support the reestablishment of lasting peace in conflict-affected areas of Cameroon, and US law enforcement agencies have taken targeted action against people in the United States for breaking US laws in the context of the crisis in the North West and South West Regions. We have made important strides in supporting Cameroon's sustainable development in keeping with the country's National Development Strategy, and supported Cameroon's admirable welcoming of refugees from Nigeria and the Central African Republic. Against that backdrop of our extensive partnership, this event presents a real opportunity to address a challenge that is faced by every military in the world: logistics,” the diplomat said.

He described logistics as a vital aspect of all operations, from peacekeeping to responding to humanitarian crises and natural disasters.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post issue N0:3235 of Friday September 20, 2024