On 30 June 2020, the President of the Republic took part in the G5 Sahel summit in Nouakchott (Mauritania). This visit formed part of France’s counter-terrorism commitment in the Sahel region and of follow-up on the pledges made at the Pau Summit back in January 2020.President Macron spoke with President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani before participating in a meeting with the five Heads of state of the G5 Sahel member countries, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission and the Secretary-General of the International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF).
These talks were followed by a meeting open to other heads of state and government from member countries and organisations of the Coalition for the Sahel, among them European Council President Charles Michel, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Italian Council President Giuseppe Conte and President of the Government of Spain Pedro Sanchez.
This Summit demonstrated that the coalition, announced in Pau last January, is now in place and that a victory is possible in the Sahel region.
This positive momentum must now be built on and sustained around these pillars:
- counter-terrorism action,
- military capacity-building in the G5 Sahel States,
- support for the return of the State and government authorities across the territory,
- official development assistance.
Finally, President Macron maintained that France’s commitment in the Sahel region would be upheld in the interests of the Sahel communities’ and France’s security. The next Summit has been scheduled for 2021.
Sahel-Elite (Bamako-Mali) 