By Jeremiah Ndjoze

The African Chiefs of Defense Conference (ACHOD), which was hosted earlier this year, has been hailed as a catalyst for coordinated action among African and international defense leaders.  
Hosted in Kenya the conference culminated into a joint communique which was co-signed by the Chief of Defence Forces in that country, General Charles M. Kahariri and the Commander of U.S. Africa Command. General Michael E. Langley, last week - distilling the priorities agreed upon by 38 African delegations during the ACHOD 2025. Both Langley and Kahariri highlighted the unity of purpose contained therein. 
“This is more than a record of what was discussed,” said Gen. Langley. “It is a shared commitment to move forward together, build on progress, and deliver results that strengthen security across Africa.” Gen. Kahariri emphasized, “This communiqué focuses our collective energy. It identifies where we must act and where we can lead together.”

FOCUS AREAS
Built around five focus areas, the communiqué speaks to the renewal of and expansion of partnerships across Africa and the world, through the deepening of coordination between regional organsations, civil society, private sector, academia, and communities.  
“We must find spaces to pool intellectual and financial capital across borders to ensure operations and force development are adequately resourced, even in resource constrained environments. Our strengthened security partnerships will allow us to advance on the following opportunities,” the document suggests. It further looks into the promotion of a common vision for security with a shared resolve toward implementation by standardising doctrine, expanding information sharing, and the revitalisation of multilateral cooperation. “No one country can address terrorism, pandemic prevention, and the handling of humanitarian crises on its own. These shared threats demand shared responses,” the document reads. Also highlighted by Langley and Kahariri is the need to inspire innovation against emerging threats by driving comprehensive responses against cyberattacks, environmental impacts, and disruptive tactics.
The military leaders have it that “sharing those insights among our militaries will position us to leverage each other's successes and lessons learned.” The above will be bolstered through the strengthening of defense institutions. This, according to the pair, can be achieved by professionalising forces to include officer and enlisted ranks, while fostering multiagency operations, and reinforcing civil-military relations. The new found relationship will further see the promotion of Promoting African leadership in securing the African continent through the advancement of African-led, whole-of-society approaches with targeted partner support.
“African militaries will continue to lead and collaborate on efforts to secure a more stable Africa,” the two concluded.