Bio Calls for Unified African Response to Middle East Crisis

President Julius Maada Bio has called for a more coordinated African response to the Middle East crisis, including a continent-wide system for assessing geopolitical risks and an agreed African position on the conflict.

Bio made the proposals while addressing an Extraordinary Conference of the African Political Alliance in Lomé, Togo, in his role as chairman of the Economic Community of West African States Authority of Heads of State and Government.

He said developments in the Middle East were affecting food prices, energy markets, global supply chains, investment flows and economic stability across Africa. According to Bio, disruption along major shipping routes had raised transport costs and added pressure to supply chains.

He also said volatility in global energy markets was increasing fuel and electricity prices, while higher food and agricultural input costs were threatening food security in many African countries.

Proposed African coordination

Bio proposed that the African Political Alliance work with the African Union and Regional Economic Communities to establish a permanent mechanism for geopolitical risk assessment and early warning.

“First, let us establish, through the African Political Alliance, working closely with the African Union and our Regional Economic Communities, a standing African mechanism for geopolitical risk assessment and early warning,” he said.

He also urged African countries to formulate a common position on the Middle East crisis based on peace, dialogue, respect for international law and multilateral cooperation.

“Second, let us develop a common African position on the Middle East crisis, reflecting our shared commitment to peace, dialogue, respect for international law and effective multilateral cooperation,” Bio said.

Economic resilience

The Sierra Leone president linked Africa’s response to the crisis to longer-term efforts to strengthen the continent’s economic independence. He called for expanded regional manufacturing, deeper continental value chains and faster implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area.

Bio also advocated modernising agriculture, increasing renewable energy production, improving regional electricity interconnections and building more resilient supply chains. He said African countries should reduce their exposure to external economic shocks while developing their financial systems and promoting greater use of local currency settlements in intra-African trade.

“The era in which Africa exports its wealth while importing its prosperity must come to an end,” he said.

Beyond economic measures, Bio called for stronger preventive diplomacy, early-warning systems and mediation mechanisms. He also highlighted democratic governance and constitutional order, along with investment in education, digital infrastructure, research, entrepreneurship and skills development.

Continental and global institutions

Bio reaffirmed ECOWAS’s commitment to peace, regional integration, democratic governance and sustainable development. He said Sierra Leone’s experience showed that lasting peace required trust, reconciliation, inclusive governance and genuine political will rather than military means alone.

He commended Togo’s President Faure Gnassingbé for establishing the African Political Alliance as a platform for dialogue, cooperation and collective African action. Bio said the alliance could contribute to strategic dialogue and political coordination in partnership with the African Union and Regional Economic Communities.

He also called for meaningful reform of the United Nations Security Council in line with the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration.

“No external crisis can define Africa’s future. Only Africa can define Africa’s future,” Bio said, urging African countries to act collectively.