At the end of the annual high level meeting with the G5 Sahel foreign affairs ministers in Brussels, Niger's Foreign Affairs Minister and current chair of the G5 Sahel, Kalla Ankourao, and High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini reaffirmed, on Monday 18 June, that cooperation on security and cooperation for the economic and social development of the G5 Sahel countries go hand in hand, in the interest of both the G5 Sahel and the EU. A Sahel country will host the next meeting.
Discussions at Monday's meeting focused on the operationalisation of the joint G5 Sahel force, cooperation on the fight against terrorism and traffickers of all sorts, and the region's development. Bilateral meetings took place between Mogherini and each of the ministers of the five countries (Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Chad).
Mogherini assured that of the €414 million promised by the international community at the high level conference in Brussels in February (see EUROPE 11968), the EU has paid €100 million in support to the G5 Sahel force.
"On the issue of security, of support to the G5 Sahel force, we have begun to take very concrete action on the ground. Our support has been disbursed. We are financing the presence of members of command positions of the joint force, and we are also helping Minusma and contributing to the coordination of international aid", Mogherini stated, mentioning the 'hub' set up in Brussels. She also said that the two parties had discussed further measures to be taken "in the months to come".
Kalla Ankourao said that not all the funds had been paid yet, but he did not state which country had not paid. Underlining that the G5 Sahel force is "already a reality", he said: "we have started, not only the establishment of the G5 force, but soldiers on the ground and the tracking of terrorists, jihadists, because feeling, when the time comes, that they are encircled, they develop their implantation in other areas than their traditional areas of choice".
In his view, the G5 Sahel countries and the EU are "to be congratulated because together we are conducting very good cooperation, together we have agreed to lots of sacrifices. The stability and security of the Sahel will benefit Europe, when the time is right, in as much as the fight against terrorism has become global".
Niger was thanked for its role in migration management, in cooperation with the EU and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). In Kalla Ankourao's view, this cooperation has enabled a reduction in two years "of 123,000 migrants per year to 1,000-2,000".
But the crucial counterpart is support for development "because we are convinced that development is another weapon for fighting terrorism and jihadism", he said.
The priority investment plan (PIP) is thus very important. This is currently being developed by the G5 Sahel secretariat in collaboration with the states of the region, and in consultation with the EU, to result in a programme by December that is ready to be submitted to fund providers. An international round table will be organised on 6 December, at which the EU and G5 Sahel hope to be able to gather together a maximum of fund providers. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)