Report by: Mustafa Al-Marini
RABAT, Jan 12 (KUNA) -- With the advent of 2026, the African continent appears far from achieving the ambitious goals set out in the African Union's (AU) Agenda 2063, which promised "a united, prosperous, strong, democratic, peaceful and secure Africa." The continent continues to face mounting challenges, including security crises, armed conflicts, civil wars and military coups, in addition to deep-rooted economic and social imbalances, all unfolding amid shifting regional and international dynamics that further compound Africa's difficulties.
Civil wars and armed conflicts remain at the forefront of the challenges confronting the continent, particularly in countries such as Sudan and the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. This reality makes the African Union's goal of "Silencing the Guns," one of the core priorities of Agenda 2063, increasingly difficult to achieve, as ongoing conflicts continue to spread across the continent, rendering the objective of peace more of a deferred slogan than an attainable reality.
According to a report issued by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) in cooperation with the International Crisis Group, Africa accounts for the largest share of active armed conflicts worldwide. These conflicts consume resources allocated for development and undermine peace and security, which the Chairperson of the African Union Commission has described as "a prerequisite for achieving all the objectives of Agenda 2063." The resurgence of military coups in recent years has also emerged as one of the most serious challenges undermining the implementation of the African Union's agenda and its aspirations for peace, development and good governance. Over the past five years alone, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Guinea-Bissau have experienced military coups, while countries such as Benin and Madagascar have witnessed attempted coups.
In several statements, Chairperson of the African Union Commission Mahmoud Ali Youssouf warned that the spread of military coups, particularly in West Africa, "undermines democratic gains and weakens citizens' trust in state institutions." He reaffirmed the African Union's "total rejection of any unconstitutional change of government," stressing that such developments constitute major obstacles to peace and development, which lie at the heart of Agenda 2063.
Another equally serious factor affecting the African landscape is the widespread presence of terrorist groups and armed militias, which pose a direct threat to security, stability and development, thereby hindering the implementation of the African Union's agenda. Countries including Somalia, Niger, Mali, Libya, Nigeria and Chad have seen extensive activity by terrorist organizations and armed militias.
The Institute for Economics and Peace, a leading global research center based in Sydney, confirmed in its 2025 annual report titled the "Global Terrorism Index" that Africa bears the greatest burden of terrorist attacks worldwide. The report noted that large parts of the continent are witnessing increased activity by extremist groups, threatening political stability and economic development and widening the gap between the ambitious goals of Agenda 2063 and the prevailing security reality.
These security challenges have inevitably cast a shadow over Africa's already fragile economic conditions, as many African countries continue to suffer from weak growth, widespread poverty, high unemployment and mounting debt. This comes amid an increasingly volatile global environment that places additional pressure on fragile economies, turning Africa into an arena for international competition, where major powers exploit weak institutions to expand their influence and gain control over natural resources.
Against this backdrop of intertwined armed conflicts, military coups, terrorism, economic crises and foreign interventions, Africa's overall landscape appears increasingly complex, requiring collective political will to strengthen capacities and build effective regional and international partnerships based on new foundations of cooperation and sustainable development.
In this context, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries emerge as one of the few viable partners capable of contributing to Africa's efforts to achieve the objectives of Agenda 2063, within a framework based on the "win-win" principle. Gulf-African partnership could serve as a bridge to stability and development through investments in infrastructure, renewable energy, ports and food security, sectors that align with the African Union's goals while offering Gulf states opportunities to diversify investments and secure strategic supply chains. (end) mry.aa