THE sixth edition of the Atlantic Dialogues 2017, an annual high–level initiative, organized by the Moroccan think tank OCP Policy Center will hold from Wednesday, December 13 to 15. The theme of this year conference is “Africa in the Atlantic: Time for Action”.

This forum on the broader Atlantic basin aims at re–thinking traditional approaches and drafting a “positive agenda” towards change and development.

A global event, the AD 2017 features three days of a special programme from December 10th to 12th for 50 emerging leaders coming from 25 countries (North and South). They will join the 250 strong Atlantic Dialogues Emerging Leaders, ADEL, network. This will follow three days of the AD conference on Atlantic issues.

This balanced conversation, that the OCP Policy Center wishes to be based on facts rather than perceptions, will allow the African point of view to express itself. On a total of 340 participants this year, 30 percent will come from Sub-saharan Africa, 21 percent from Europe, 19 percent from Morocco, 19 percent from North America and 9 percent from South America. Among them, 21 percent will represent international organisations, 15 percent the private sector, 23 percent several think tanks, 14 percent the academia and 7 percent the media.

The AD Dialogues is a hub for political and business Leaders, diplomats and civil servants. Confirmed speakers include Ibrahim Mohamed Awal, minister of Business Development (Ghana), Edward Scicluna, minister of Finances (Malta), Omar Amadu Jallow, minister of Agriculture (Gambia). Three former Heads of States will also attend: Edueardo Duhalde (Argentina), Jorge Quiroga (Bolivia), Michel Rodriguez (Costa-Rica).

Two former Prime Ministers will attend, Aminata Touré (Senegal) and Lionel Zinsou (Benin), as well as former ministers of Foreign Affairs Hubert Védrine (France), Miguel Angel Moratinos (Spain), Paulo Portas (Portugal) and the former Minister of Education Silas Lwakabamba (Rwanda). Top diplomats, military officers and civil servants will also be there: Ana Palacio, member of the Council of State (Spain), Clare Akamanzi, chief executive officer, CEO, of the Development Board (Rwanda), Mary Berth Leonard, U.S. Ambassador to the African Union (USA), Major General Barre Seguin, director for Strategy, Plans and Programmes, U.S. Africa Command (USA  and General (Retired) Nick Parker, senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI, United Kingdom). Private sector speakers include Didier Acouetey from AfricSearch (France), and Mostafa Terrab, chairman and CEO of OCP (Morocco).

A Broad Network of Scientific Partners – AD 2017 is organized by the OCP Policy Center, and seeks to reinforce its links with top think tanks and members of the academic world. The list of its speakers this year features Pascal Boniface, director of Institut français des relations internationales et stratégiques (IFRI, France), Jorge Castañeda, global distinguished Professor of Latin American and Caribbean Studies at New York University (NYU, USA) and former secretary general of Foreign Affairs (Mexico), Karen Donfried, president of the German Marshall Fund of the United States (USA), Obiageli Katryn Ezekwesili, Senior Advisor, Africa Economic Development & Policy Initiative (Nigeria), Daniel Hamilton, executive director of Johns Hopkins University (USA), Sunjoy Joshi, director/observer, Research Foundation (India), Jason Marczak, director of the Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center at the Atlantic Council of the United States, Michelle Ndiaye, head of Tana Forum Secretariat (Ethiopia), J. Peter Pham, vice president and director of the Africa Center at the Atlantic Council of the United States, Adam Posen, president of the Peterson Institute for International Economics (USA) and William Zartman, Professor at John Hopkins University  (USA), and many more.

–  Dec 11, 2017 @ 16:52 GMT |