Foreign Minister Baerbock visits Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire

Abidjan (dpa) – Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has visited Côte d’Ivoire on the second stop of her West Africa trip after Senegal. The programme included a visit to an international counter-terrorism academy which Germany is helping to finance with 2.5 million euros. It is regularly used by Germany’s special police unit GSG9 for training purposes, too. At a joint appearance with the President of Côte d’Ivoire, Alassane Ouattara, Baerbock called on the military governments of the Russia-friendly Sahel states of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso to protect the population from violence in the fight against Islamist militias. The Ivorian president emphasised his concern that there would be a mass exodus from these countries, adding Côte d’Ivoire was already providing shelter for 60,000 refugees from Burkina Faso. Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire are two of Europe’s key partners in West Africa.