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EU hosts int'l conf. on Sahel tomorrow

BRUSSELS, Feb 22 (KUNA) -- The European Commission will host tomorrow Friday the High Level International Conference on the Sahel in Brussels to strengthen the international support needed by the Sahel countries (Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Chad) in the areas of security and development, including through concrete financial support to the G5 Sahel Joint Force.
The European Commission in a statement Thursday said the EU supports G5 countries in three main areas: politics, development and security.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker will co-chair the Conference alongside G5 Sahel's current Chairman, Mahamadou Issoufou, President of Niger, the President of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, and the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix.
"We are increasingly strengthening our relations with our African partners, the EU is the first partner of the Sahel, and of Africa as a whole. To be safer, stronger, and provide opportunities for the future of its people, especially youth, to achieve this we must together make sure that security and development go hand in hand," commented Juncker. (end) nk.mt