(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) BRUSSELS, Feb 23 (KUNA) -- An International High Level Conference on the Sahel concluded in Brussels Friday after mobilizing international political support for the Sahel region and pledges of 414 million euro (USD 508 million) to support the Joint security Force of the G5 Sahel.
The Conference was co-chaired by the European Union, the United Nations, the African Union and the G5 Sahel group of countries (Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger).
The conference released a joint communique which stated that the Sahel region still faces a number of challenges, in particular recurrent terrorist acts.
This conference, which is a continuation of the high-level events that have taken place in recent weeks and in particular the G5 Sahel Summit on February 6, 2018 in Niamey, has helped to focus the support of the international community around the three axes.: economic, security and development, it said.
Speaking at a press conference after the meeting, EU High Representative Federica Mogherini said the EU with 8 billion euros (USD 9.8 billion) already invested for the period 2014-2020, just for the Sahel, will continue to be the leading donor for the Sahel.
G5 Sahel's current Chairman, President of Niger Mahamadou Issoufou told the joint press conference that "our main objective is together with our partners to find lasting solutions to funding the Joint Force. The five countries in Sahel set up this Joint Force to combat terrorism and organised crime in the G5 Sahel region." He noted that another very important aspect as regards security is the situation in Libya and added that "this chaos in Libya is at the base of the deterioration of the security situation in the Sahel." On his part, the President of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, said the Sahel is an area which brings together almost all of the challenges you can imagine.
"It is also an area where we see cross border crime, illegal migration. Beyond what is being done we need to see more mobilisation of the whole of the international community," he added.
United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, said that he signed today together with the UN and the G5 Sahel the arrangements that will enable us to commit UN support to the G5 Sahel Force.
"We have come prepared because it is important to see quickly real results on the field because that is what all we will be judged on," he added. (end) nk.mt
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