President of Republic Takes Over G-5 Sahel Rotating Presidency
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On 20 February, in N’Djamena (Chad), the 6th Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State of the G-5 Sahel, the work of which was concluded by a handover ceremony during which His Excellency Mr. Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, the President of the Republic, took over the Presidency in office of the G-5 Sahel Conference of Heads of State for a one-year term succeeding President Mr. Mahamat Idriss Deby of Chad.
Closing the Summit, the President of the Republic, Chairman of the G-5 Sahel, delivered an important speech in which he recalled the regional and international context in which the G-5 Sahel operates and said that despite its unfavorable character, the organization was able to quickly find a place for itself on the international political and diplomatic scene and to mobilize its partners around its programs for the development of governance, resilience, and security.
It has also put in place a strategy for development and security and a priority investment program drawn up for 2019-2021. Such a program has been updated to take into account the new context of the deterioration of the security situation.
Here is the full text of that speech:
“- Excellency General Mahamat Idris Deby Itno, the President of the Transition, President of the Republic of Chad, Head of State;
– Excellency Mr. Mohamed Bazoum, the President of the Republic of Niger;
– Excellency Colonel Major Kassoum Coulibaly, the Minister of Defense and Veterans, representing His Excellency Captain Brahima Traore, the President of the Transition of Burkina Faso, Head of State;
– Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen ministers;
– Excellency the Secretary General of the G-5 Sahel;
– Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, special guests, representing the partners of the G-5 Sahel;
– Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, members of the diplomatic corps;
– Distinguished guests of the Summit;
– Ladies and gentlemen,
First of all, I would like to extend to my brother, His Excellency Mr. Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, the President of the Transitional Military Council, President of the Republic of Chad, my sincere congratulations for the remarkable work he has accomplished throughout his presidency of the G-5 Sahel and for the perfect organization of this extraordinary summit, while warmly thanking him as well as his government and all the Chadian people for the warm welcome and generous hospitality.
I would also like to thank my peers Head of State of the G-5 Sahel for the trust they placed in me by entrusting me with the presidency in office of our organization and to tell them at the same time that I feel honored by this expression of confidence, as much as I measure the heavy responsibility that has thus been assigned to me in the exceptional circumstances that our organization is going through today.
Excellencies Ladies and Gentlemen,
Driven by a spirit of solidarity, mutual aid, and ownership of their common destiny, our countries created the G-5 Sahel in 2014 to pool their resources and synergize their efforts to face the major challenges of security and development they were facing.
Despite a rather unfavorable regional and international context, our young organization very quickly managed to find a place for itself on the international political and diplomatic scene and mobilize its partners around its governance, resilience, and security development programs.
It has also put in place a strategy for development and security, as well as a priority investment program drawn up for the period 2019-2021 which we decided, during the last ordinary summit of 15 February 2021, to update to take into account the new context of deteriorating security situation.
In addition to its action in the area of development, our organization has, in terms of security, made undeniably appreciable progress. Thus, by way of illustration, the channels of exchange and coordination have been significantly strengthened between the national defense and security forces. The joint force, in its long and difficult process of operationalization, capitalized on achievements in terms of training, equipment, and infrastructure.
The Defense College has already trained four promotions of senior officers who today occupy high responsibilities in their respective countries. Rapid Action Monitoring and Response Groups (GARSI) have been set up in each country. Activities have started in the Regional Police Academy in N’Djamena and in the Intelligence Fusion Center in Niamey.
It is also an opportunity to express our gratitude to all our international partners who have supported us over all these years and who have today, through the World Bank, the European Union, and the Sahel Alliance, reaffirmed their firm intention to continue to support us in our efforts to revitalize our organization.
Unfortunately, over the past two years, our organization has experienced exceptional internal and external circumstances which have, to varying degrees, seriously impacted the regular functioning of its various bodies. The significant event of this period was the withdrawal of Mali from the G-5 Sahel and all of its bodies, which suddenly broke the geographical continuity of our space and deprived the organization of the precious capital contribution of a brotherly country and founding member. At the same time, terrorist groups were increasing their presence in the three-border area, resulting in thousands of internally displaced people and an increasing number of casualties day after day. It was painful for all of us, but we are nevertheless determined to continue to work for the return of our Malian brothers to the G-5 Sahel family which is and will always remain theirs. We are also firmly resolved to continue to pool our resources and synergize our efforts to jointly address the security and development challenges we are facing. Since the G-5 Sahel is the most appropriate framework for this, we must do everything possible to preserve and strengthen it.
The holding today of this extraordinary summit confirms our strong determination to work actively in this direction. Already, there is reason to welcome the adoption by the ministers in charge of defense, here in N’Djamena, on 10 January, of the draft new strategic concepts of the joint force operations, which has just been presented to us by the Executive Secretary. Indeed, it is essential that the reconfigured joint force be strengthened and provided with the necessary means to regain its dynamism in close coordination with the national armed forces.
Similarly, in terms of development, we must quickly review and adopt our bodies, the SDS and the 2023-2025 PIP, revitalize unfinished and pending programs, work to ensure that our partners strengthen and concretize further their commitments alongside us.
We all remember the Nouakchott Donor Conference in 2018 for the financing of the PIP, which saw strong announcements that have, however, so far, been poorly implemented.
Excellency Ladies and Gentlemen ministers;
We must be realistic and ensure that the hard-won results are preserved. Overcoming terrorism and the great challenges of development is a reasonably conceivable objective for countries that show solidarity and pool their resources. But, absolutely inaccessible for countries that face common security challenges in a dispersed order.
Thus, while reaffirming the absolute need to preserve, strengthen, and develop our organization, I declare closed the sixth extraordinary session of the G-5 Sahel.
Thank you”