Our Ambition In The Sahel Is To Build Peace, Utilise National Resources For Our People’s Benefit – Niger Prime Minister

Niger Prime Minister Ali Zeine stated on Tuesday that the primary goal of Sahel countries is to build peace to utilise the region’s resources for the benefit of their people.

“In the Sahel, our ambition is to build peace to exploit the many resources with which God has endowed us for the benefit of our people,” he declared.

He made the remarks during the opening of an international conference in solidarity with the Sahel peoples at the Mahatma Gandhi Conference Centre in Niamey.

The conference, themed “For anti-imperialist unity, peace and friendship among peoples,” brings together pan-Africanist and anti-imperialist organisations, unions, and political parties from around fifty countries.

He also noted that the members of the Confederation of the Alliance of Sahel States (Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger) are open to cooperation with nations that respect their sovereignty and are willing to engage in mutually beneficial partnerships.

Philippe Toyo, a West African People’s Organisation (WAPO) representative, praised the AES countries for breaking colonial ties with France and encouraged other African nations to follow their example.

Maman Sani Adamou, president of the conference’s national organising committee, reinforced this message, saying:

“For several decades, we have been making our own decisions. We no longer take phone calls from Paris. If we succeed, we owe it to our efforts. If we fail, we owe it to our mistakes.”

The three Sahel countries, all ruled by the military, have sought closer ties with Russia in defence and economic matters, moving away from their former ally, France, after it grossly failed to help combat the growing insecurity despite deploying troops and establishing military bases in the regions.

In September, the nations announced a deal with Russia to acquire surveillance satellites and telecoms to defend their countries against security threats. This comes as the nations’ security forces have foiled many attempts aimed at destabilising their countries, including neutralising terrorist groups.

The nations have also made efforts to reclaim sovereignty over national resources.

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