G5 Sahel to hold 'decisive' summit in N'djamena

Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (PANA) - The G5 Sahel and France Summit, to be held on 15 and 16 February in N'djamena, Chad, will be decisive as it is necessary to harmonise points of view in the fight against terrorism in the Sahel.

This was stated by the head of the Burkinabe diplomacy, Alpha Barry, at the end of President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré's visit on Wednesday to Paris, where he had a working lunch with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron.

The two heads of state discussed cooperation between Burkina Faso and France, as well as the situation of the fight against terrorism in the Sahel region.

"The two heads of state needed to meet to prepare for the G5 Sahel Summit in N'djamena which will take place in a few days," Barry said.

Following from the one in Pau, France, held one year ago, the N'djamena Summit will provide an opportunity to assess the gains made, the Burkinabe Foreign Minister said, noting that Burkina Faso is experiencing a certain lull, but the situation remains worrying.

According to him, the next G5 Sahel Summit will be a matter of revisiting the conclusions of the Pau Summit.

"He said that Pau was divided into four pillars: the fight against terrorism; the strengthening of the army's capacities; the return of the state; and development. If we have achievements in terms of the fight against terrorism, the state and services must be able to resettle in areas where calm is returning, and if the state is resettled, development must follow to accompany the people," the head of the Burkinabe diplomacy said.

N'djaména will be even more "decisive", according to Alpha Barry, who believes it was important that there was a harmonization of views on certain issues before the meeting in the Chadian capital.

-0- PANA TNDD/JSG/BBA/MA 11Feb2021