The Africa Center for Strategic Studies (ACSS) celebrated the opening of its Regional Office for West Africa (ROWA) today with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Dakar, Senegal. ROWA is the Africa Center's second regional office in Africa. ACSS's East Africa Regional Office opened in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 2006.

ACSS was established in 1999 as one of five U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) regional centers. DoD established these centers to provide strategic-level education to international civilian and military personnel through a combination of multi-week courses, short-term conferences, seminars and workshops, and outreach. The regional centers build networks of security leaders who share common perspectives, understand U.S. policy, and actively work to share best practices and lessons learned with others in their countries and regions. In addition, the centers provide U.S. policy makers access to regional perspectives, foster multilateral cooperation based on personal relationships, and facilitate continuous contact with foreign officials who understand U.S. security policies.

Attending the ceremony were Dr. Abdullahi Y. Shehu, Director General, Inter-Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa; retired Ambassador William M. Bellamy, ACSS Director; Ms. Marcia S. Bernicat, U.S. Ambassador to the Republics of Senegal and Guinea-Bissau; Rear Admiral James M. Hart, USN (Ret.), deputy director for Strategy and Plans, Strategy, Plans, and Programs Directorate, United States Africa Command; and other invited dignitaries and guests.

"The opening of this regional office in Dakar further demonstrates our dedication to promoting dialogue between and among African and U.S. leaders on security-related topics of mutual concern; and our long-term commitment to ECOWAS," Bellamy said.
"The regional office is the latest example of our long and productive ties to Senegal and to the West Africa sub-region. As we approach our 10th anniversary in 2009, it is significant to note that our first seminar was conducted here in Dakar in April 1999."

With the establishment of ROWA, located in the U.S. Agency for International Development building at Petit Ngor, B.P. 49, in Dakar (telephone +221 33 860 61 90 x3124), ACSS will be better positioned to plan and execute its academic and outreach activities in the sub-region.