Academy Fellow Major General Arnold Field, U.S. Marine Corps (RET), NAPA Chairman of NAPA’s Standing Panel on International Affairs, was Conference Chair at the second Africa Security Symposium, a two-day event hosted by GRV Global on June 20th and 21st. This annual gathering seeks to further peace and security in Africa by taking advantage of public-private partnerships.

Fields stressed the need for conversation among government, non-government, and private sector leaders to debate, discuss, and solve security issues. He highlighted the need to cultivate expertise, invest in technology, and increase collaboration with regional and international communities.

On the first day, Major General Fields spoke on stage to welcome all attendees and thanked them for their time, while providing an outline of discussion themes. The event panels emphasized regional relations, collaboration, and communication in the morning, while the afternoon was spent in meetings to give local officials the opportunity to network and discuss stability efforts. On the second day, Major General Fields recapped the most important information from the prior day and introduced the day’s proceedings. Key topics covered were counter-terrorism, border operations, infrastructure protection, and capacity-building.