France recommends greater cooperation in the Sahel Region

French Foreign Affairs minister, Jean Marc Ayrault and his German Counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier have both acknowledged the need to step up security measures in the Sahel region.

During a press conference in Niger, Ayrault and Steinmeier said Africa and Europe need to collaborate because the destinies of the two continents are linked.

“We have to face this security challenges. We have started doing it. France and Germany have started doing it in their bilateral and multilateral cooperation in three domains,” Ayrault told pressmen.

They however reiterated that the war on terror is a global affair which needs solidarity.

The vast Sahel region which groups Niger, Mali, Chad and Mauritania is being considered as a new front in the fight against terrorism.

The Sahel region has witnessed an increase in the number of displaced people caused by escalating violence in north east Nigeria and the volatile situation in northern Mali.

As of late 2015 a total of 2.8 million people were displaced in the zone, over a million more than in early 2014.

AFP