ISS and AU Sign Landmark Agreement

The Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and the African Union (AU) Commission formalised many years of collaboration with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Wednesday, November 5th. 

The MOU advances the long-standing relationship between the ISS and the continental body that spans more than two decades. It provides a framework for deepening existing cooperation between the ISS and relevant departments in the AU Commission working on peace and security, governance, corruption, terrorism, crime and justice.

‘The ISS and the AU share key goals and we complement each other in our pursuit for improved human security, justice and the rule of law in Africa’, said Anton du Plessis, managing director of the ISS. ‘We have worked together for many years on these issues, and the MOU affirms our collaboration and opens the door to partnerships in new areas’.

The agreement was signed at the AU Commission headquarters by Dr Aisha Laraba Abdullahi, Commissioner for Political Affairs on behalf of the AU, and Ambassador Olusegun Akinsanya, the ISS’s Regional Representative and Special Advisor based in Addis Ababa.

‘The MOU provides a more structured framework within which to carry out joint projects’, explained Akinsanya. ‘The high quality research and informed policy analysis that the ISS provides can add value to the content work of the AU’s policy organs and the Regional Economic Communities within the context of Agenda 2063’s vision of a stable, prosperous and integrated Africa’.

For the ISS, closer ties with the AU Commission can improve the accuracy and impact of its advisory, technical assistance and training work with policy makers and government officials across Africa.

Originally published by the Institute for Security Studies. 
Photo courtesy of the Embassy of Equatorial Guineau.