ADDIS ABABA, May 3 (Xinhua) -- The proactive role China is playing to bring about peace and development in the Horn of Africa (HoA) is a very important step toward resolving old and emerging security challenges in the region, a senior political analyst has said.
Mukerrim Miftah, assistant professor at the Ethiopian Civil Service University, told Xinhua that a well-planned and well-thought-out strategy is needed to help political actors in the region engage in genuine dialogue and resolve their security challenges.
Miftah is optimistic that China's initiative for peace and development in the region would definitely bear meaningful fruits, considering the good political, socio-economic and development relations it established with countries and political actors in the region.
Noting that there are unfolding ongoing armed conflicts in different parts of the region, the analyst emphasized the crucial need for a ceasefire to take place among warring forces in the region.
"The conflicting parties must drop their guns to have peaceful discussions," Miftah suggested.
Miftah said the security problems in the region were really snowballing in size, shape and depth.
Emphasizing China's bigger role in brokering peace in the Horn of Africa, Miftah suggested the peace conference that China is set to hold in the near future needs to create a platform where the voices of all political actors are heard and their problems are addressed.
"I think the venture, the initial promise by China, is a very important initiative and I haven't seen such an initiative from the United States or the European countries. It appears to be very holistic. It wishes to see the problem in the Horn of Africa as very inter-linked and inter-related," Miftah said.
Produced by Xinhua Global Service
