16 December 2019
The first Shabwa and Al-Mahra Strategic Forum, hosted by the Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies and the Oxford Research Group, was held December 4 – 6, 2019 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The forum discussed methodologies for strategic planning and mechanisms to bolster peace efforts on a national level in Yemen, and in the Shabwa and Al-Mahra governorates in particular.
Thirty participants from both governorates were present at the forum, during which they identified priorities to support and strengthen the role of local authorities in meeting the citizens’ needs in their respective areas.
Sana’a Center Executive Director Maged al-Madhaji said that the forum is a culmination of the center’s efforts to start a conversation around development and knowledge issues in local communities as well as in Yemen, with the aim of establishing a strong link between local and international stakeholders.
“This forum is viewed as the inauguration of a number of local strategic workshops on the Shabwa and al-Mahra governorates in 2019 and 2020,” he concluded.