French Minister for the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu has completed his African tour. After Abidjan on Monday, he was in Dakar on Tuesday for February 21 to meet his Senegalese counterpart as well as President Macky Sall.
With our correspondent in Dakar, Juliet Dubois
It was the first visit of the Minister of Armies to Dakar since his appointment last May. The opportunity for him to make contact with officials as well as Senegalese generals. Sébastien Lecornu also met the French elements in Senegal, a workforce of around 450 soldiers present in the territory since 2011 and who mainly provide training support to the Senegalese contingents.
Despite the end of the Barkhane missions in Mali and Saber in Burkina Faso, no redeployment is planned for these soldiers in Senegal. The elements present in the country will remain focused on their cooperation mission without taking part in military operations. According to the Minister, there is no request from the Senegalese authorities in this regard.
Discussions also focused on the terrorist threat in the nearby Sahel and securing the border with Mali. On this aspect, the Senegalese want to buy equipment from the French: ammunition, radar, optronic equipment… But they told the Minister of the Armed Forces that they sometimes feel shunned by the French arms industry, which prefers bigger customers to them. Middle East and Asia.
” I want this fixed “says Sébastien Lecornu, who promises to bring up the message on the French side.
And from March, African countries will be able to supply themselves during a mini-arms fair organized in Abidjan.