The capital of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, is set to host the United States Government initiated eighth annual African Land Forces Summit 2020 (ALFS20) next week.
The four days meeting will be opened on Tuesday February 18, 2020 at the Sheraton Addis Hotel Over forty land force chiefs and representatives from across Africa are expected to attend the four-day summit, according to the information from the Embassy of the U.S. in Addis Ababa.
It is stated that during the event, Land Force chiefs are expected to exchange information on current topics of mutual interest and engage in candid dialogue to develop cooperative solutions to address trans-regional challenges and threats.
After the opening of the meeting, Ethiopian National Defense Force Chief of Ground Forces Lt. Gen. Molla Hailemariam and U.S. Army Africa commanding general, Maj. Gen. Roger L. Cloutier Jr. on behalf of Gen. James C. mcconville, U.S. Army Chief of Staff, are expected to brief journalists about the meeting.
The theme for this year’s summit is “Tomorrow’s Security Demands Leadership Today” which reflects the shared belief that leadership development is an enduring responsibility among military leaders and a vital component of a professional army.
The inaugural ALFS was held in Washington, D.C., in 2010. ALFS 2012 was conducted in Kampala, Uganda, and was hosted by the U.S. Army in conjunction with the Uganda People’s Defense Forces.
ALFS 2015 was held in Dakar, Senegal, and was hosted by the U.S. in conjunction with the Senegalese Defense Force. Initially, ALFS was a biannual event, but was interrupted by sequestration and competing U.S. Army priorities in 2014. In 2015, U.S.
Army Africa decided to hold ALFS annually in order to build upon the relationships created in previous years. ALFS 2016 was held in Arusha, Tanzania, and was hosted by the U.S. in conjunction with the Tanzanian People’s Defense Force.
ALFS 2017 was held in Lilongwe, Malawi and hosted by the U.S. in conjunction with the Malawi Defense Force.
ALFS 2018 was held in Abuja, Nigeria and hosted bythe U.S. in conjunction with the Nigerian Army. In 2019, ALFS was held in Gaborone, Botswana and co-hosted by the Botswana Defense Force.