French President Emmanuel Macron stressed, today, Tuesday, in Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon, that his country "will not abandon the security of the African continent," reiterating his desire to "reinvent" the French military and security apparatus, especially in the Sahel region.
"France will remain firmly committed to the security of the continent, in order to support our African partners and at their request," Macron said, during a speech to the French community in Yaounde.
Today, in Cameroon, Macron began a four-day tour of the African continent, during which he will also visit Benin, which faces security challenges in the Sahel region, in addition to Guinea-Bissau.
The French president added: "We are reorganizing our system by withdrawing from Mali because the political framework is no longer available (...), with the aim of expanding our apparatus, outside the Sahel region, to the Gulf of Guinea and the countries that now have to confront terrorist groups that are expanding and causing turmoil in the entire region."
"We will remain committed to the countries of the Lake Chad Basin to help them fight the militants who, for many years, have been spreading death in the far north of Cameroon," where Boko Haram is active, he added.
"France must be there in an even more visible way, at the request of African countries, which is a clear and explicit request, through our greater presence on the issue of military training and equipment, providing support to African armies and staying close to them, to help them increase their capabilities, by linking Our apparatus has always been in security, defense, diplomacy and development."
Macron stressed that "this tripartite is the only one that allows us to respond to the security emergency in the face of terrorism and to address its root causes."
The French president indicated that his country "is under attack by some who say that European sanctions are the cause of the global food crisis, including the African one," adding that "this is completely wrong, because, simply put, food, as well as energy, has become a weapon of war in the hands of Russia."
Macron saw the need to "build new collective partnerships with a new approach by linking existing companies, start-ups, associations and civil society".
He met this afternoon, at the Cameroonian presidential palace, his 89-year-old counterpart Paul Biya.
After the meeting, Macron denounced, during a joint press conference with Biya, what he considered "hypocrisy, especially from the African continent", which, according to Macron, is "the lack of clear recognition of Russia's unilateral aggression towards Ukraine, as the European Union did."
He explained that "the choice the Europeans made first is not in any way to participate in this war, but to recognize and name it," adding that he "often sees hypocrisy, especially on the African continent (...) for not naming the Russian military operation in Ukraine, because There is diplomatic pressure," he said, adding, "I am not naive."
Last June, the Minister of Mines and Mineral Resources of the Central African Republic, Reuven Binam Beltango, stated that Russia had helped his country to restore 90% of its lands that were held by armed groups, noting that this leads to attracting investors in the country.
Macron stressed that the European Union decided "to do everything necessary to stop this war without participating in it, and to punish Russia for disrupting its war effort, and to isolate it diplomatically."
He continued, "Here we need you, otherwise this pattern (the military operation in Ukraine) will be repeated over and over. It is not this international system that we want, (we want the system) that is based on cooperation and respect for the sovereignty of each country."
The French president stressed that his country is "the country that made the greatest commitment to African countries at its request to ensure its security, but within a clear framework at the request of a sovereign state and to fight terrorism," noting that "this framework is no longer available after the military coup in Mali."
On Monday, a grouping of political parties in Cameroon called on French President Emmanuel Macron to recognize France's colonial crimes, hours before his visit to the country, where he will meet his counterpart Paul Biya, according to an AFP correspondent.
On Saturday, the African Union hailed the agreement signed between Russia and Ukraine on resuming grain exports as a "welcome development" for the continent facing the growing threat of famine.
The African Union indicated, in a statement, that this agreement comes "in response" to the visit of the President of the African Union and President of Senegal, Macky Sall, and the Chairman of the Commission of the Union, Moussa Faki, last June to Moscow," where the two parties stressed during their meeting with the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, on "the necessity of returning the export of grain from Ukraine and Russia to world markets."
Last June, the African Union President and Senegal's President, Macky Sall, announced that "the sanctions imposed on Russia have deprived African countries of access to grain and fertilizer, which has exacerbated the situation in the field of food."
On Saturday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov began a 5-day tour of African countries, during which he will pay working visits to Egypt, Ethiopia, Uganda and the Republic of the Congo. During his visit, Lavrov is scheduled to discuss the international and regional agenda and bilateral cooperation.
On May 25, Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated African leaders and heads of government on the occasion of Africa Day.
The Kremlin said that Putin said in the congratulatory message that "Russia and African countries can enhance security and stability in the whole world through joint action."
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