Samuelsen and Hjort Frederiksen: We must fight terrorism and irregular migration in the Sahel region

NordenBladet — Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen today participated in a summit on the West African G5 Joint Force that seeks to fight terrorism, organised crime, and irregular migration in the Sahel region.

At the summit, Denmark announced a contribution of DKK 99 million over a three-year period for regional peace and stabilisation efforts. The efforts will, among other things, focus on fighting organised crime and terrorism as well as strengthening the justice system and other initiatives aimed at providing support for the G5 Joint Force. In addition, Denmark announced a contribution of DKK 7.5 million directly aimed at making the G5 Joint Force operational. Both contributions are financed under the Danish Peace and Stabilisation Fund that contains commitments from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defence.

Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen  “Today, Denmark sends a clear signal that we will actively contribute to the stabilisation and development of the Sahel region. With the collapse of Libya and instability in North Africa, terrorism, radicalisation and irregular migration have become challenges that affect us directly in Europe and in Denmark. If we do not tackle the great challenges to stability in the Sahel, direct consequences will be felt, also for Denmark, in the form of increased migration flows and the risk of extremism and terrorism spreading. We have a shared interest with the Sahel countries in addressing these challenges. This is why we are now taking steps to strengthen our efforts even further.”

Source: um.dk
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