Søreide: NOK $15M to African Military

Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ine Eriksen Søreide (Conservatives)

Norway’s Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide (H) has indicated that Norway will allocate NOK $15M to the Sahel, Africa military force now fighting terrorist groups and controlling unlawful migration.

 

Speaking from Brussels, Minister Søreide stated; ‘We’re now stepping up our support for the Sahel region and allotting an additional NOK 15M. This brings our program
investment to about NOK 455M.’

Norway’s monetary contributions are reserved for civilian support of the border operations. The monies are slated for the gaining of trust and loyalty from the local population within the afflicted areas. The funds will also be used for training G5 militia members of human rights issues and of international law as it applies to war.

The newly allotted monies will fund the G5 Sahel Joint Force; an African-led military force set within the Sahel area fighting terrorist groups, organized crime and human
trafficking.

The EU provided 50M euros to the G5 in 2017. The G5 is the primary force being applied to stop illegal immigration to Europe across the Mediterranean from Africa.

On Friday, 23 February, the EU announced that funding of the operation would be doubled from 2017’s expenditures, to a total of 100M euros.

The G5 Sahel Joint Force was officially established in 2017.At full capacity, the G5 Force will comprise 5k soldiers guarding border areas of 5 countries: Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Chad.

Concurrently, Norway has entered into a formal agreement with Niger that allows for Norway’s military to be sent to Niger for participation in active training and military exercises.

 

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today