Pavla Danisova, Jan Pospisil, Kholood Khair & Thomas Vieregge: GEOPOLITICS AT THE HORN OF AFRICA – WHAT IMPLICATIONS FOR EUROPE?

Irene Horejs in conversation with Pavla Danisova, Jan Pospisil,
Kholood Khair and Thomas Vieregge





GEOPOLITICS AT THE HORN OF AFRICA – WHAT IMPLICATIONS FOR
EUROPE?


 


The Wider Horn of Africa comprises the multiethnic states of
Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti and Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan,
Kenya and Uganda, holds significant strategic importance for the
European Union due to its geostrategic location on the Red Sea,
ongoing security challenges and their impact on migration issues
and on European economies.





The ongoing conflicts in Sudan, Somalia and Ethiopia/Eritrea
destabilize the whole region and impact strongly also on Middle
East and North African countries. These conflicts are fueled by
external forces that support the different warring parties and
their geopolitical dimension attracts global powers. While the
influence of traditional powers (US and UK) is waning, China,
Russia, and “emerging powers” like Turkey and the Gulf States
have increased their engagement in the region.





For Europe, the instability in the Horn of Africa presents urgent
challenges, primarily related to trade, energy security,
migration, the security of maritime routes and potential
spillover effects in neighboring countries like Egypt. The most
recent moves of President Trump to drastically cut support to UN
bodies and to dismantle USAID will further exacerbate the
humanitarian and displacement crisis, foster instability and
weaken Western voice.





What are the interests of Saudi Arabia, The United Arab Emirates,
Russia, China, Turkey in the region? What is the impact of US
President Trump´s recent policy moves ? What is the EU’s
strategy, what can and should the EU do to secure EU interest in
the region ?





Welcome:


Georg Lennkh, Austrian Special Envoy for Africa,
Member of the Board, Kreisky Forum





Jan Pospisil, Associate Professor at the Centre
for Peace and Security at Coventry University and co-investigator
in the Peace and Conflict Resolution Evidence Platform,
University of Edinburgh



Pavla Danisova, Head of Cabinet of the EU
Special Representative for the Horn of Africa
(online)Kholood Khair, founder and director of
Confluence Advisory, a ‚think and do tank‘ founded in Khartoum,
that works on three priority policy areas: peace and security,
economy, and governance;(online)



Thomas Vieregge Foreign desk (former
Correspondent to Germany and the US), Die Presse





Moderation:Irene Horejs, former EU Ambassador to
Niger and Mali