ADF STAFF
Purple-hued sunsets and the mists of the mighty Mosi-oa-Tunya greeted commanders from across the continent as they gathered in Livingstone, Zambia, for the 12th African Land Forces Summit from April 22-26.
The theme, “Regional Solutions to Transnational Problems,” belied the serene setting of the Zambezi River as it crawled toward its destiny at Mosi-oa-Tunya, known to many as Victoria Falls, one of Earth’s seven natural wonders.
In addition to the natural backdrop, the summit also commenced against the backdrop of regional challenges such as continuing violent extremism in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province, chaos in the Sahel, and armed groups that plague the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
“Instability anywhere is instability everywhere,” said Lt. Gen. Dennis Sitali Alibuzwi, army commander of the Zambian Defence Force. Alibuzwi hosted the event along with United States Maj. Gen. Todd R. Wasmund, commanding general of U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa.
Alibuzwi told ADF that it was important that Zambia host the summit because he thought it would benefit strategic partners in the region.
Also, he thought partnering with the U.S. Army would be beneficial because, “I think they’re well advanced in terms of understanding the transnational challenges by way of technology, and I thought Zambia could benefit from that, the technology transfer to understand how these challenges could be addressed.”
Furthermore, with Zambia’s proximity to troubled regions such as the eastern DRC and northern Mozambique, the summit allows Zambia to learn best practices from other countries and share information on issues such as illegal migration, organized criminal syndicates, and trafficking in humans and mineral resources. “So, with these common challenges, we find solutions to how best to deal with them,” said Alibuzwi.
Zambian Minister of Defence Ambrose L. Lufuma noted in his welcome that Africa requires a safe environment for economic development to take hold.
Nearly 40 African countries were represented on day one of the event, with more expected to arrive as the week progressed. Also attending were U.S. military personnel, officers from Europe and South America, academics, and other experts.
Attendees heard and discussed a range of topics. On April 23, the first two of four plenary sessions dealt with how human trafficking and migration affect security and how the environment can impair regional security. The other two addressed transnational criminal organizations and regional security collaboration on April 24 and 25, respectively.
Plenaries included a moderated panel of experts speaking on the main topic and taking questions from land commanders. After the plenaries, commanders moved to smaller rooms for breakout sessions, in which they could deepen their discussions of the shared challenges covered in the larger group.
“Challenges such as human trafficking, mass migration, environmental degradation and climate change wreak havoc and cause untold human suffering,” said Wasmund. “These issues transcend national borders, they subvert sovereignty, cross jurisdictions and strain national resources. No country can solve these challenges alone.”
Similar plenary sessions were held for senior enlisted leaders at the summit. Topics for them included team building, competition, skill building and morale.
Later in the week, attendees went to a tree planting at the Livingstone Institute of Business and Engineering Studies and watched a Zambia Army special forces demonstration at the Zambia Air Force base in Livingstone.
The event wasn’t all work, however. Attendees enjoyed the best activities Livingstone — Zambia’s tourism capital — had to offer. Boats took attendees on a two-hour tour of the Zambezi River, where hippopotamus snouts broke the surface of the water and the sun surrendered the sky to a near-full moon. And of course, there was a visit to Victoria Falls.
The summit closed with a ceremony on the morning of April 26.