Accra,
Nov. 20,
Ghanadot/GNA
-
Visiting
NATO
secretary-general,
Jaap de
Hoop
Scheffer,
on
Thursday
said the
military
alliance
could
play an
important
role in
training
African
soldiers.
This, he
said,
would
ensure
that
Africa
provided
solutions
to the
conflicts
on the
continent.
“Africans
must be
in the
lead to
find
solutions
to
problems
that
confront
the
continent,”
he said
in Accra
in an
interaction
with
Ghanaian
military
officers
on the
second
day of
his
three-day
visit to
Ghana.
Scheffer
is in
Ghana at
the
invitation
of the
President
John
Agyekum
Kufuor.
He ruled
out a
direct
role for
the
alliance’s
troops
in
Africa,
saying
it was
not in
NATO’s
domain
to
police
the
world.
"NATO is
not a
global
policeman
and we
do not
intend
to turn
the
organization
into
that.
“We are
not
seeking
to
impose
ourselves,
nor do
we
pretend
that we
have the
answers
to all
of
Africa’s
security
problems.
This is
why we
strongly
support
the
principle
of
African
ownership.”
Scheffer
said the
Alliance
had
agreed
to
support
the
African
Standby
Force (ASF),
and was
in close
contact
with the
African
Union,
standing
ready to
offer
advice
and
assistance
throughout
its
creation.
“Today,
we live
in a
world
where
instability
in one
area can
very
quickly
affect
regions
far
away.
“That is
why NATO
has
begun to
tackle
risks
and
threats
head-on
well
outside
Europe –
to make
its
unique
capabilities
and
expertise
available
to the
wider
international
community
– and to
work
with
other
nations
and
organizations
in a
comprehensive
approach
to come
to terms
with
challenges
which
affect
us all.”
Commenting
on the
pirates
in Gulf
of Aden
and
elsewhere,
Scheffer
said it
was a
"very
serious
challenge"
that
should
be
combated
by the
international
community.
He said
NATO’s
warships
were
already
escorting
food aid
shipments
to
Somalia
and
patrolling
the Gulf
of Aden.
Scheffer
is
expected
to meet
with the
Asantehene
and hold
talks
with
President
Kufuor.
GNA
