On Wednesday, July 27, the Africa Center hosted Sir Richard Dearlove, KCMG, OBE, former Chief of the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) and immediate past Master of Pembroke College, Cambridge for a high-level roundtable discussion.

Africa Center Director J. Peter Pham welcomed participants and set the stage for the discussion, noting Sir Richard’s nearly four decades of work in the British intelligence community, including as Chief of the MI6.  

Sir Richard discussed security and counterterrorism trends in West Africa, including recent terror attacks in Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, and Mali. He also focused on the recent discovery of a massive natural gas field off the coast of Senegal and Mauritania, and discussed the find’s impact on regional security and stability.

In the lively discussion that ensued, attendees discussed security and political trends on the continent, as well as the impact of the British vote to leave the European Union on the country’s interests in Africa.

Image: Sir Richard Dearlove, former Chief of British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) and Africa Center Director Dr. J. Peter Pham.