On 18 September 2024 the Founder and Executive Director of ACCORD, Dr Vasu Gounden, was invited to be a panelist at the Africa Aerospace & Defence (AAD) Conference that was held at Waterkloof Air Force Base in Pretoria, South Africa on 18-20 September 2024 under the theme “Shaping Tomorrow’s Defence: Security Trends, Innovations and Opportunities in Africa”.
Dr Gounden was invited to be a panelist in the panel session that focused on the topic of “How recent conflicts have shaped the future of technology in warfare – how can they be applied to African peace and security?”. The Chair of the session was Mr Ricardo Teixeira, a Senior Journalist from ProtectionWeb and the other panelists were Mr M C de Beer, CEO of Milkor KSA; Dr Michelle Small, an independent expert from the United Nations Working Group on the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination; and Dr Sonja Theron, a lecturer in the Department of Political Sciences at the University of Pretoria, SA.
The AAD is Africa’s only aerospace and defence expo that combines both a trade exhibition and an air show. The AAD Expo is managed through a partnership between: the Department of Defence and Military Veterans (DOD); the Armaments Corporation of South Africa SOC Ltd (Armscor); the South African Aerospace Maritime and Defence Industries Association (AMD); and the Commercial Aviation Association of Southern Africa (CAASA). Held biennially, AAD brings together the largest gathering of industry players in aerospace and defence (manufacturers and innovators) and buyers (high-level international delegations, Defence Chiefs of Arms and Senior Procurement Officers).
In August 2023, Dr Gounden was invited to be a resource person at the Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) for Defence & Security Conference: Bridging the gap – Fostering public –private cooperation that was co-hosted by the South African Aerospace, Maritime and Defence Industries Association (AMD) and Defence Web in Gauteng, South Africa. In November 2023, he was invited by the South African Aerospace Maritime and Defence Industries (AMD), the South African Aerospace Maritime and Defence Export Council (SAAMDEC), and RiskRecon to be a resource person in a virtual workshop on promoting investment in the South African defence manufacturing industry: considering regional and global dynamics and impact on the sector, which aimed to address the opportunities, and challenges emerging from the local, regional, and global operational environments. In May 2024, the Executive Director was invited to deliver a state of the Nation security address at the South African Aerospace, Maritime, and Defence Industries Association’s (AMD’s) inaugural National Security and Safety Town Hall held in Gauteng, South Africa, which offered South Africa’s political parties a platform to present their positions on national security, while allowing the audience to engage with these parties on critical issues. The Town Hall was held in the lead up to South Africa’s national elections that was held on 29 May 2024.
The conference provided an opportunity for ACCORD to share its analysis and thirty-two years of experience of working in the area of peace and security on the Continent with defence industry and related private sector individuals, offering a different perspective through its work with the African Union and the United Nations.
