A high-level international conference on the Sahel was held in Brussels under the aegis of the President of the Republic of Niger and current Chairman of the G5 Sahel, Issoufou Mahamadou, the Chairman of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, and the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker.
The meeting confirmed the European Union's political commitment to the Sahel countries, mobilized 414 million euros in support of the G5 Sahel Joint Force, and strengthened the coordination and effectiveness of aid for sustainable development in the region.
The EU has doubled its funding for the G5 Sahel Joint Force to 100 million euros, in order to improve regional security and combat terrorism. The European Union and its member states thus jointly contribute half of the international support for the Joint Force. This increased support fully meets the needs of the Joint Force, and will enable it to acquire the resources it needs to improve security conditions in the region.
On this occasion, President Jean-Claude Juncker declared: " Faced with so many interrelated factors of instability, our responses must be consistently ambitious and comprehensive. Security and development go hand in hand, and we must continue to mobilize all the instruments at our disposal to ensure visible effects in the region. With 100 million euros mobilized by the European Union, we are doubling our support for the operationalization of the G5 Sahel Joint Force, and I'm delighted to see that all our partners and friends in the Sahel have joined us in our efforts".
With 8 billion euros in development aid (2014-2020), the EU is the main donor to the G5 Sahel countries.