A DELEGATION FROM DALLAIRE INSTITUTE PAID A COURTESY CALL ON COMMANDANT GAFCSC

A two-member delegation from Dallaire Institute, accompanied by the Canadian Defence Advisor to Ghana, paid a courtesy call on the Commandant of the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College (GAFCSC), Major General (Maj Gen) Matthew Essien, on Tuesday, 4 February 2025, at the College Headquarters. The aim of the visit was to discuss GAFCSC training activities with the view to ironing out areas where Dallaire Institute could collaborate with the College to train selected middle and senior-level officers of the Ghana Armed Forces.

 

 

Mr. Arsene Tshidimu, the Deputy Director for the Regional Programme (Dallaire Institute—African Centre of Excellence), remarked that Dallaire Institute, which has its headquarters in Halifax, Canada, has established branches in Rwanda, Mozambique, and Uganda. They intend to expand their training activities/programs to the rest of Africa. In lieu of that, a five-year project has been drawn up to expand their operations to Ghana, Nigeria, and Cameroon, among others.

 

 

Maj. Gen. William Omane-Agyekum, who was present at the meeting, has been entreated to conduct an assessment in Ghana with the view to maintaining a lasting presence in Ghana. As part of that assessment, the Dallaire Institute intends to collaborate with GAFCSC to conduct operational-level training for its students, especially middle and senior-level officers. The probable area of such training collaboration is the Peace Operation Module, which is being undertaken at the College. This is because the institute plans to collaborate with the Army Peace Operation Training School (APOTS) to conduct tactical-level training for lower-level officers.

 

Major General (Maj Gen) Matthew Essien responded by highlighting the various courses and modules the college offers. He also affirmed that the Peace Operation Module is a study area in which the college could collaborate with the Dallaire Institute to achieve its objective. He further hinted at the nouvelle module the college is crafting, which is the Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Cybersecurity module for which he charged the representative of the Institute to have a look.  

 

 

He added that Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Cybersecurity, which is a subset of multi-domain operations, is the route to use in preparing middle and senior-level officers to effectively tackle complex security challenges now and in the near future. Unanimously, it was agreed that an arrangement should be made for Lt Gen Roméo Antonius Dallaire (Rtd), the founder of the Institute, to deliver a public lecture at the college.