Mauritania – G5 Sahel – Visit by Jean-Yves Le Drian (5-6 December 2018)

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Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian will be in Mauritania on December 5 and 6. He will be attending a meeting of the five Sahel countries (Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Chad) which are coordinating their development and security efforts within the G5 Sahel, which France has actively supported since it was founded in 2014.

During this meeting, which will be devoted to raising funds for the G5 Sahel’s Priority Investment Program, Mr. Le Drian will emphasize our support for operational projects to overcome the isolation of the five nations and bring their people closer together, and to bolster regional stability. He will announce a large French contribution to this program, and the sectors covered by French aid.

He will reiterate that this support for the G5 Sahel’s Priority Investment Program goes hand-in-hand with our commitment to the Sahel Alliance. Launched last year by the French President, the German Chancellor and the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Policy, this alliance aims to boost the effectiveness of development assistance for the Sahel and to deploy it more swiftly in vulnerable areas, areas at war and those threatened by terrorism.

The minister will underscore the importance for the G5 Sahel Joint Force – an initiative launched in July 2017 by the Sahel countries – to continue its operations to combat terrorism while at the same time ramping up its strength. He will reaffirm France’s support for the force’s operations and the international community’s mobilization on its behalf.

During his visit, Mr. Le Drian will hold a bilateral meeting with Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz. He will stress our appreciation for Mauritania’s engagement within the G5 Sahel.

The minister will then travel to Kiffa, in southeastern Mauritania, to witness the completion of two projects supported by France – one in the field of sustainable energy and the other in maternal health – which reflect our involvement in priority areas.

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