UAE pledges 30m Euros for G5 Sahel Joint Force

 The UAE has announced a 30-million Euro contribution to the G5 Sahel Joint Force, to tackle the threat of terrorism, extremism and organized crime in the Sahel region.

The announcement was made during an international meeting in support of the Sahel Joint Force, a major African initiative, bringing together Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Chad, and supported by the African Union and the United Nations.

A UAE delegation, headed by Reem bint Ibrahim Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Cooperation, attended the meeting, which was held Wednesday in Paris.

It was also attended by President Emmanuel Macron of France, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, G5 heads of states, as well as Italian and Belgian premiers.

In her speech at the meeting, Al Hashimy affirmed UAE’s steadfast position regarding combating terrorism and extremism.

Al Hashimy commended the support shown by the international community for the G5 Sahel Force in 2017, including the adoption of the UN Security Council Resolution 2391 and allowing the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) to provide logistical support to the joint force.

She underscored the importance of the measures taken by the GCC states to put an end and dry up sources of funding terrorism, and considered them a significant step on the path toward obliterating terrorism.

The minister reiterated the necessity of developing empowerment programmes for youths living in those regions plagued by extremist thoughts, and introducing training schemes that enable youngsters to get job and education opportunities that safeguard them against falling victims to terror groups.

For his part, the French president commended the efficient approach adopted by the UAE and the Kingdom of Saudi Araba toward terrorism and extremism, which, he said, is based on forging radical solutions to uprooting the phenomenon by launching developmental programmes badly needed by the countries affected by terrorism.

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