As Delivered Closing Remarks by Ambassador Stephanie Sullivan for the
Eighth Steering Committee Meeting of the Security Governance Initiative
May 20, 2021, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
West Africa Regional Training Center
My dear Co-Chair, National Security Coordinator General Adu Amanfoh,
Participants,
Thank you all for the informative updates and for the lively discussion! Engagements like this shape our shared understanding of the security context, which in turn guides effective collaboration.
I appreciate the deep expertise of the subject matter experts who are focusing like a laser on these important areas and the useful updates and insights from today’s program that we will apply to our work going forward. There has been a lot of progress. But like Oliver Twist, We all want more!
Thank you as well to Dickson and Molly for the candid assessment of our progress toward the goals outlined in the Joint Country Action Plan. We must understand where we are before we can determine where to go. While we may seem a bit behind schedule in the implementation of the JCAP, the focus areas and cross-cutting themes are broad and enduring, making those open projects most worthy of pursuit. And to cite and oft-quoted African proverb: “If you want to go fast, go alone; If you want to go far, go together.” It is truly a team effort!
I took what the Honorable Minister of National Security said about Cabinet approval for the strategies as being more imminent than August 2021 or the end of the year. Yes, that’s right, you said “by” August 2021.
As we move ahead, I encourage everyone to be on the lookout for complementary projects that directly and indirectly contribute to the JCAP’s aims and welcome them into the SGI dialogue and actions! I hope our growing network can leverage the many lessons learned over the past five years and converge our efforts toward Ghana’s enhanced maritime security, more effective border management, a secure cyber ecosystem (which is less physically “visible” than the tow domains I have just mentioned), and the fair and accessible delivery of justice.
Before I close, I’d like to acknowledge that this is the final Steering Committee Meeting for Molly, our SGI Coordinator at the U.S. Embassy. Molly and her husband are relocating to Washington, D.C., meaning we’ll lose another key figure in the SGI community.
But, SGI is resilient, and our partnership will not skip a beat, even if the cast of characters changes. In fact, the whole point of SGI is to make its aspirations real and sustainable!
Thank you, Molly, for your tireless work to advance this initiative.
Once again, thank you to my co-chair, General Francis Adu Amanfoh, to the SGI coordinators for bringing us together today, and to our focus area leaders for keeping our momentum going. I am so proud of our bilateral partnership and look forward to our next steps together under the Security Governance Initiative.
Thank you!
