Nairobi, Jan 29 (IANS): Experts met in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi on Wednesday to promote peace in the Horn of Africa region.

The two-day Regional Validation Forum for the Horn of Africa Initiative's Peace and Social Cohesion White Paper brought together more than 100 delegates, including security officials from Kenya, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan, as well as officials from international development agencies, to exchange knowledge and strategies for strengthening peacebuilding.

In his opening remarks, Raymond Omollo, Principal Secretary in the Kenyan Ministry of Interior and National Administration, said the forum presents a significant opportunity to reinforce the collective commitment to peaceful and accelerated development as well as social cohesion in the Horn of Africa region.

He noted that the region has made a collective resolve to improve the lives of the communities in the borderlands through peace, investment, and development because it has long faced insecurity, marginalization, conflict, fragility, and underdevelopment.

Omollo also emphasized the need for active participation of local communities in shaping their future and the importance of regional cooperation in tackling transnational challenges such as cross-border crime, disasters, the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, terrorism, and climate change.

Kenrick Ayot, the national focal point for Kenya at the Horn of African Initiative, said sustainable development in the borderlands can not be achieved without first addressing the underlying challenges of insecurity, conflict, and intercommunal violence.

Ayot observed that the Horn of Africa, with its rich cultural diversity and strategic geographic importance, continues to be central to regional peacebuilding efforts.