AFSEC 15: African Security

Following a period of relative calm with no successful acts of piracy since 2012, International Forces from the Big 3 (EU NAVFOR’s Operation ATALANTA, NATO’s OCEAN SHIELD and Combined Maritime Forces TASK FORCE 151) are expected to reduce their assets in the region. A necessary transition is being planned in order to ensure the nations of the region gradually step up to augment this military presence.

AFSEC 15 seeks to reassess the maritime security situation in the Gulf of Aden and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. Using the 2009 Djibouti Code of Conduct concerning the Repression of Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in the Western Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden as a conceptual framework, the conference hopes to examine lessons learned over the past 5 years and develop strategies for future cooperation in broader areas of maritime security, beyond that of piracy.

Djibouti, home to military facilities including Japan, France, and America, as well as international organisation including IGAD and EUCAP NESTOR, is the ideal venue for this conference. The country acts as an international maritime and military laboratory where new forms of cooperation are being developed. The Djibouti Regional Maritime Training Centre is due to be opened here in February 2015, and will host the conference Focus Day on regional cooperation and training.