International Academy for the Fight Against Terrorism - Donors’ and supporters’ conference under the chairmanship of Chrysoula Zacharopoulou (12 Jul. 2022)

Yesterday, alongside the Ivorian Minister of State and Minister of Defense Tené Birahima Ouattara, Chrysoula Zacharopoulou, Minister of State for Development, Francophonie and International Partnerships, attached to the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, presided over the donors’ and supporters’ conference for the International Academy for the Fight Against Terrorism (AILCT), which was inaugurated in June 2021. The AILCT, which is the initiative of President Macron and President Ouattara, is already up and running near Abidjan. Over 60 countries and organizations were represented.

This purpose of this conference was to garner partners’ support for the academy’s growth. To this end, contributions totaling close to €15 million were announced yesterday. These funds are on top of the €24 million already invested in this project by France.

The Minister of State also recalled the support provided by France, alongside many international partners, for the fight against terrorism. At a time when several regions in the world are faced with a fragile security situation, she called for the further strengthening of coordination and consistency among all the contributors to this shared initiative, whose goals are peace and security.

In light of this situation, Chrysoula Zacharopoulou saluted the European Union and its Member States, in particular Germany and the Netherlands, as well as the African Union, ECOWAS and Australia, on their commitment.

La secrétaire d’État a rappelé le soutien de la France, aux côtés de nombreux partenaires internationaux, à la lutte anti-terroriste. Dans une période marquée par une fragilité sécuritaire dans plusieurs régions du monde, elle a appelé à renforcer encore davantage la coordination et la cohérence de l’ensemble des acteurs engagés autour de cette initiative commune visant la paix et la sécurité.

Chrysoula Zacharopoulou a salué dans ce contexte l’engagement de l’Union européenne et de ses États membres, notamment l’Allemagne et les Pays-Bas, ainsi que de l’Union africaine, de la CEDEAO et de l’Australie.