Visits

From October 9-11, Pierre Lellouche, the Minister of State for European Affairs, was in Djibouti to support European Union initiatives to combat piracy in the Gulf of Aden.

During this trip, Mr. Lellouche met with the President of the Republic of Djibouti, the Prime Minister, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs. On this occasion, he thanked Djibouti’s authorities for their support and their contribution to the EU’s efforts.

The minister emphasized the success of Operation Atalanta, the European operation to combat piracy and the first naval operation within the framework of the European Security and Defense Policy, during a visit to the French frigate Lafayette and to the detachment of maritime patrol reconnaissance aircraft taking part in the operation.

This trip, which coincided with a visit to Djibouti by the ambassadors of the EU’s Political and Security Committee (PSC), also provided an opportunity to rally our European partners around the need to extend Operation Atlanta through an EU contribution to strengthening security in the region. This will come about first of all through the consolidation of the State of Somalia. The French initiative to train Somali security forces, under which 150 Somali soldiers have already been trained in Djibouti, falls within this framework. We are also acting to strengthen naval action by training and equipping the coastguards of countries in the region.

Pierre Lellouche was accompanied by Deputy Christian Ménard, author of a parliamentary report on the fight against piracy, and Arnaud Danjean, a European deputy who chairs the European Parliament’s defense and security sub-committee.