German Foreign Minister Analena Berbock, who will visit West Africa today, hopes to expand cooperation with Senegal and Cote d'Ivoire to prevent the spread of instability currently rocking the Sahel, in the rest of the region, DPA reported, quoted by BTA.
"If more countries in West Africa fall into instability, this will not only have dramatic consequences for the local population, but also a direct impact on our security in Europe," she said before the start of her two-day visit to the region.
p>
Berbock pointed to Senegal as an important mediator in the region.
Senegal and Cote d'Ivoire, which are among the few remaining democracies in West Africa, are considered two of Europe's most important partners at a time when more and more countries in the region are turning to Russia, DPA notes.
Berbok's visit comes amid a wave of instability in the Sahel, which some observers call the Coup Belt, following military uprisings in Mali, Chad, Guinea, Sudan, Burkina Faso, Niger and Gabon since 2020.
p>
While many of the new military governments severed relations with the European Union, withdrew from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and sought support from Russian forces, Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire maintained their relations with the West.
/p>
Residents of the two riparian countries, as well as "other countries bordering the Sahel region, live under the constant threat that terror and violence from neighboring countries will permeate their societies," says Berbock.
During her visit, the German minister will meet with her Senegalese counterpart, Yassin Fall, and with the newly elected president, Basirou Diomaye Faye, in the capital, Dakar. Migration and renewable energy sources are likely to be two of the main topics of discussion, with German business representatives accompanying Berbock during the visit, DPA notes.