Africa’s Cybersecurity Leaders Convene in Rabat for the Inaugural ANCA Executive Leadership Program – The North Africa Post
Publish Date: 2026-06-02 08:07:00
Source Domain: northafricapost.com
Using an unordered list, summarize the following article with between 4 and 8 key points.
Rabat is hosting the inaugural edition of the African Network of Cybersecurity Authorities’ Executive Leadership Program from June 1 to 5, 2026, bringing together senior government officials, public sector decision-makers, cybersecurity experts, and representatives of regional and international organizations around the continent’s most pressing digital security challenges. The event is organized by ANCA-CERT — the operational arm of the African Network of Cybersecurity Authorities — with the support of Morocco’s Direction Générale de la Sécurité des Systèmes d’Information (DGSSI) and in partnership with the Smart Africa Digital Academy.
General Abdellah Boutrig, Vice-President of ANCA and Director General of the DGSSI, opened the program by framing cybersecurity as both a technical imperative and a strategic sovereignty question. “As our administrations and economies transform, our collective capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to cyber threats becomes a determining factor of resilience,” he told participants, adding that no country can face the full range of cyber threats alone. Morocco, he confirmed, will continue to support the ANCA-CERT — whose permanent seat it hosts — and to develop the skills, protection of information systems, and digital resilience of the African continent as a whole.The Kingdom of Morocco, true to its African vocation, will continue to support all initiatives aimed at enhancing the protection of information systems, developing skills and strengthening the continent’s cyber resilience, General Abdellah Boutrig insisted.This approach is fully in line with the vision of cooperation and solidarity championed by King Mohammed VI in favor of a more integrated, more resilient Africa that is in control of its own development, he stressed, urging national cybersecurity agencies to play a central role, particularly as they constitute the pillars of cyber governance in their respective countries and the leading actors of the continental cooperation that they seek to strengthen.
Within this framework, ANCA is intended to play a unifying role, providing a platform for harmonizing approaches, bringing expertise closer together and promoting joint initiatives serving the interests of the continent, he added, recalling that cybersecurity has become a major issue for economic development and digital trust. “As our administrations and economies undergo transformation, our collective ability to prevent, detect and respond to cyber threats becomes an essential factor of resilience.”
This resilience is inseparable from digital sovereignty, he noted, emphasizing that States must possess the capabilities, skills and governance mechanisms enabling them to protect their information systems, strategic data and critical infrastructure.“Africa possesses talent, expertise and considerable potential. By pursuing our efforts in cooperation and capacity building, we can jointly create a safer, more resilient and more sovereign digital environment for the benefit of our citizens and economies,” he said.
The program’s thematic agenda covers governance, digital resilience, cyber crisis management, skills development, and the strengthening of regional and international cooperation. Its design reflects the ANCA’s founding ambition: not merely to share best practices among national agencies, but to harmonize approaches, converge expertise, and build joint capabilities that generate continental-scale protection. The program is described by organizers as a direct response to the acceleration of digital transformation across Africa and the intensification of the cyber threats that accompany it.
Mohamed Methqal, Director General of Morocco’s Agency for International Cooperation (AMCI), situated the initiative within Morocco’s broader African partnership framework. He noted that the AMCI’s program of academic cooperation currently hosts more than 20,000 African students in Moroccan public institutions, and that since 1999, more than 40,000 graduates from African countries have completed their studies in Morocco. The annual program of technical cooperation organizes more than 100 training sessions benefiting over 1,200 senior African officials across strategic sectors including information technology and public governance.
Morocco’s hosting of the ANCA-CERT seat and this inaugural leadership program is consistent with its positioning as a continental digital governance reference. The DGSSI has been consistently rated among the most advanced national cybersecurity agencies in Africa and the Arab world, and Morocco’s inclusion in successive global cybersecurity rankings reflects deliberate and sustained investment in institutional capacity. The ANCA Executive Program is expected to become an annual fixture, feeding into a growing continental ecosystem of shared cyber defense and digital governance frameworks.
