Kickoff of the Fourth Meeting of Ministers of Youth and Sports of the Sahel and Sahara Group (CEN-SAD) in Tripoli

Empowering Africa’s Youth: Libya Calls for Unity and Shared Leadership

Tripoli, Libya – April 23, 2024: The activities of the fourth meeting of the Ministers of Youth and Sports of the Sahel and Sahara Group (CEN-SAD) kicked off this morning, Tuesday, in the capital Tripoli.

Over the past two days, experts from the group have held meetings in preparation for the meeting of the Council of Ministers of Youth and Sports.

The experts reviewed the proposals submitted by the member states on the establishment of a Union of Youth Hostels in the Sahel and Sahara Group (CEN-SAD) and other proposals.

The Head of the Government of National Unity, Abdel Hamid Dabaiba, inaugurated the fourth session of the Ministerial Council for Youth of the Sahel and Sahara Group (CEN-SAD) in Tripoli today, Tuesday, in the presence of the Executive Secretary of the Group, Dr. “Ado Hajji”, Ministers of Youth and Sports, heads of delegations from the group’s countries, a representative of the World Council of the Youth Hostel Movement, and ambassadors of accredited countries in Libya.

In a speech he delivered at the beginning of the session, Dabaiba welcomed the participants in the meeting from members of the Ministerial Council, representatives of delegations and international and regional organizations, and ambassadors of accredited countries in Libya. He stressed that Libya is keen to embrace the initiatives of unified African action to achieve the interests of its peoples, whether at the level of the (CEN-SAD) group or at the level of the African continent.

Dabaiba said, “We in Libya strive to embrace African action initiatives after a long hiatus, which is a prominent indicator and an important supporter of achieving security and peace, spreading the culture of construction and development, rejecting violence and fighting, and strengthening the principle of dialogue in resolving conflicts. This is the principle that the Government of National Unity has adopted since assuming its tasks, encouraging and supporting every effort aimed at achieving comprehensive national reconciliation.”

The Minister of Youth in the Government of National Unity, “Fatahallah Alzunni”, also delivered a speech at the opening of the activities of the fourth session of the Ministerial Council for Youth of the Sahel and Sahara Group (CEN-SAD). In his speech, the Minister of Youth welcomed the ministers and heads of delegations participating in the meeting, stressing the importance of this meeting, which comes after a break for a not-so-short period, expressing his thanks and appreciation to the General Secretariat of the Sahel and Sahara Group for the well-prepared preparation for this ministerial meeting, which was reflected in the efforts made over the past two days to prepare the memoranda and agenda items.

During the opening session, and based on the proposal of the Libyan Minister of Youth, it was decided to form the bureau of the session, headed by the State of Libya, the Central African Republic as Vice President, and Niger as Vice President.

The session also witnessed the reading of the report and recommendations prepared by the experts for the Ministerial Council for Youth during their meeting that continued for two days to study and discuss them and adopt what is agreed upon in the final statement.

The heads of delegations from the group’s countries expressed their thanks and appreciation in their speeches at the opening session for the efforts and capabilities provided by the State of Libya to revive the institutions and structures of the Sahel and Sahara Group by hosting the activities and meetings of its institutions and ministries, which achieves the goals for which the group was established, politically, economically, and socially.

A documentary film was shown during the session on the destruction of Libyan youth hostel facilities as a result of the events witnessed by the country and the efforts made by the Government of National Unity to rebuild and equip them to enable them to provide their services to young people throughout the country.