Nouakchott (© 2024 Afriquinfos) – The Mauritanian President, Mr. Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, current president of the G5-Sahel, called on all West African countries to join the fight against terrorism in the Sahel.
‘’The region must find a common political will to be able to fight against insecurity. If the G5 is not the right one, we must find something else. The threat is strong. I am not one of those who think today that countries can individually face a threat like terrorism.”, suggested the leader who is seeking a second term.
This same call to unite to fight terrorism, Mr. Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani launched it to the international community. It was at the opening of the work of the fourth General Assembly of the Alliance for the Sahel.
Opening the work of this fourth ordinary session of the Alliance, Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, in his speech stressed that the security challenge posed by terrorism and violent extremism is inseparable from the vector inhibiting development that are: poverty, social injustice, poor governance, climate change, lack of prospects and social tensions.
‘‘Today, there is no doubt that the Sahel as a whole, and particularly the G5 Sahel countries, is facing security, socio-economic and ecological crises that are out of all proportion to its own resilience capacities alone.”, the leader observed.
According to him, ‘‘these crises, exacerbated by a particularly difficult international situation, feed off and amplify each other, in a sort of dramatic vicious circle’’.
We can only hope to break this circle through the synergy of efforts, the adoption of a holistic approach, and the establishment of a strong collective response, sustainably supported by active solidarity on the part of the international community. .
Indeed, the security challenge represented by terrorism and violent extremism cannot be dissociated from the vector inhibiting development which is: poverty, social injustice, poor governance, climate change, the absence of prospects and social tensions. It is generally at the confluence of these vectors that violence germinates and thrives.
He indicated that the determination of the G5-Sahel was clearly reflected in the roadmap of the Mauritanian presidency of the G5 Sahel, which sets itself the objective, among other things, of strengthening the capacities of defense and security actors, particularly the reformed joint force. His Excellency the President of the Republic called, on behalf of all the heads of state of the G5 Sahel, for greater commitment from the international community and mobilization of financial resources for the benefit of the G5 Sahel.
By being held concurrently with the 12th ordinary session of the Council of Ministers of the G5 Sahel, this session of the General Assembly offers us today the happy opportunity to put into perspective, with a view to strengthening it and improving its effectiveness, the partnership between the Sahel Alliance and the G5 Sahel.
Recorded achievements
Despite a rather unfavorable regional and international context, it is undeniable that the G5 Sahel has recorded significant achievements, in particular:
The strengthening of channels of exchange and coordination between national defense and security forces, the capitalization by the joint force of significant achievements in terms of training, equipment and infrastructure, the establishment of rapid surveillance and intervention action groups (GARSI), Or on the economic level, the implementation of a priority investment program for the period 2019 – 2021 and the current adoption of a new plan covering the period 2023 – 2025.
Certainly, unfortunate and regrettable events have recently disrupted the functioning of our organization and further accentuated the vulnerability of this already very fragile area. As an illustration we could cite among others:
The Malian withdrawal from the G5 Sahel, which suddenly broke the geographical continuity of our space and deprived us, very momentarily, I hope, of the valuable contribution of a brother country and founding member, the withdrawal of the Barkhane force, the armed conflict in Sudan.
Operationalize the 2023 – 2025 priority investment program, and promote economic exchanges between the countries of the Sahel while working to mobilize them around structuring projects aligned with the development and security strategy,
”However, it is clear that to respond effectively to the security and development challenges in the Sahel, we need a broader mobilization of the international community,” the leader underlined.
Also, on behalf of all the heads of state of the G5 Sahel, I call for greater commitment from the international community and mobilization of financial resources for the benefit of the G5 Sahel.
Vignikpo Akpené
