German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who is set to travel to West Africa on Monday, is hoping to expand cooperation with Senegal and Ivory Coast in order to prevent instability currently rocking the Sahel from spreading to the rest of the region.
"If more countries in West Africa descend into instability, that will not only have dramatic consequences for the local population, but also a direct impact on our security in Europe," the minister said ahead of her two-day visit to the region.
Baerbock pointed to Senegal in particular as an important mediator in the region.
Senegal and Ivory Coast, who are among West Africa's few remaining democracies, are considered two of the most important partners for Europe at a time when more and more Sahel nations are turning to Russia.
Baerbock's visit to Senegal on Monday and the Ivory Coast on Tuesday comes amid a wave of instability in the Sahel region, which some observers have termed the Coup Belt, following military uprisings in Mali, Chad, Guinea, Sudan, Burkina Faso, Niger and Gabon since 2020.
While many of the new military governments have turned away from relations with the European Union, withdrawn from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and canvassed support from Russian forces, Senegal and Ivory Coast have maintained their relations with the West.
The people of the two coastal nations as well as "other countries bordering the Sahel live under the constant threat that terror and violence from neighbouring countries will also seep into their societies," Baerbock said.
On Monday, the German minister is scheduled to meet her Senegalese counterpart Yassine Fall alongside newly elected President Bassirou Diomaye Faye in Dakar on Monday.
Senegal has never experienced a violent conflict since its independence from France in 1960.
Migration and renewable energies are likely to be two topics under discussion, with German business representatives accompanying Baerbock on her visit.
Electric bus system to tackle Dakar's environmental problems
Baerbock is set to be shown the electric Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system in Dakar, among the first of its kind in Africa.
It went into operation in May and was financed by the European Investment Bank and the World Bank. The system is intended to help reduce the city's air quality.
Germany is "focussing on offers that benefit people on both sides today and tackle the challenges of the future together," said the minister.
The EU's Global Gateway initiative plans to invest up to €300 billion ($326 billion) in the infrastructure of emerging and developing countries over the next few years.
Record number of migrants heading for the Canary Islands
Last year, a record number of people set off in small fishing boats on the more than 1,500-kilometre-long sea route to Spain's Canary Islands in order to reach Europe.
According to the UN, almost 40,000 migrants from Africa reached the islands in 2023 - twice as many as the average in previous years. At least around 1,000 people died or disappeared. This year there is expected to be even more arrivals. And for the first time in 2023, the number of those who had set off from Senegal exceeded the number of arrivals from much closer Morocco.
Most Popular
Comments / 0