By Emmanuel Abi Couson
The African Conference for Promoting Peace, held in Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania, has announced the selection of His Excellency Mr. Alassane Ouattara, President of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, as the recipient of the “Africa Prize for Promoting Peace 2025.”
This prestigious international award will be formally presented during the opening session of the Fifth International Forum of the African Conference for Promoting Peace.
The event will take place in partnership with the Mauritanian Government and the Abu Dhabi Peace Forum in Nouakchott on January 21, 22, and 23, 2025.
The event is to be hosted by His Excellency Mr. Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, President of the Republic of Mauritania
Alassane Ouattara stated that “without peace, nothing is possible” is being recognised for his different peace initiatives.
The Africa Prize for Promoting Peace recognizes individuals, institutions, and organizations that have made significant contributions to the promotion, preservation, and maintenance of peace across the African continent.
Past recipients of this distinguished award include His Excellency Mr. Mohamed Bazoum, President of Niger (2022), His Excellency Mr. Muhammadu Buhari, President of Nigeria (2023), and His Excellency Mr. Adama Barrow, President of The Gambia (2024).
This year, the Award’s Supreme Committee has unanimously chosen to honor His Excellency Mr. Alassane Ouattara for his outstanding efforts in promoting a culture of dialogue and reconciliation in Africa. His leadership of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has been particularly notable in managing regional crises, spearheading dialogue, reconciliation, and mediation initiatives, while also creating a unique model of national reconciliation in Côte d’Ivoire.
In this context, His Excellency Sheikh Mahfoudh bin Bayyah, General Coordinator of the African Conference for the Promotion of Peace, emphasized that “The commitment of His Excellency President Alassane Ouattara to shared human values, his unwavering support for peaceful solutions in the West African region, and his substantial contributions to peacebuilding efforts across Africa are the key factors that led the High Committee of the Africa Prize for the Promotion of Peace to unanimously select him for the 2025 edition of the award.”
