From 8 to 14 June 2024, Brigadier General André Patrice BITOTE, Director General of EIFORCES, led the traditional Africa study mission for two higher security education courses, namely the 10th Higher Degree of Security Studies (BESS 10) and the 13th Senior Staff Diploma of Security Forces (DEMFS 13), to Lomé, Togo.
Under the theme “Police cooperation between West African States in combating terrorism”, the 68-strong delegation composed of Executives, Auditors and Trainees from eight African countries (Burkina Faso, Cameroon, CAR, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mali and Togo) was informed in situ of the missions, security arrangements, working conditions and training of police officers and gendarmes in this West African country. This was enabled by a series of presentations from top executives from the Direction Générale de la Police Nationale (DGPN), the Direction Générale de la Gendarmerie Nationale (DGGN), the Ecole Supérieure des Forces de Sécurité (ESFOS) and the Centre d’Entrainement aux Opérations de Maintien de la Paix (CEOMP). Emerging from this was a clear picture of a security environment with common challenges and prospects, as African countries are facing protean threats.
On a completely different level, a visit to the Adéticopé industrial platform (PIA), a 400-hectare industrial and logistics ecosystem for local processing of agricultural products (cotton and soya bean), suggested a promising economic future full of challenges for the security forces. The delegation further marvelled at the rich cultural and spiritual practices of the Guin people, while visiting the GLIDJI village.
Finally, two audiences were granted respectively by Brigadier General ALLARE DIMINI, the newly appointed Chief of Staff of the Togolese Armed Forces, a former Auditor of the ESIG, and His Excellency, Ambassador Calixte BOTOSSIE MADJOULBA, Minister in charge of Security and Civil Protection, which provided an opportunity to strengthen cooperation ties between EIFORCES and Togo, which is currently engaged in a serious overhaul of its entire security system.