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Germany's Baerbock visits West Africa amid Sahel violence

Published July 15, 2024last updated July 16, 2024

Germany's top diplomat traveled to Senegal and Ivory Coast, two stable democracies in a region otherwise plagued by sectarian conflict. Senegal has become a major transit point for refugees en route to Europe.

https://p.dw.com/p/4iIBc
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock walking with Senegal's Infrastructure Minister Malick Ndiaye
Baerbock is stopping in Senegal and Ivory coast, two of West Africa's last remaining democraciesImage: Britta Pedersen/dpa/picture alliance

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock was in West Africa on Monday as instability in the Sahel threatens to spread to other regions.

"Security here in the region, the future prospects of this region, are also closely linked with our own security and our own development," Baerbock said in Dakar on Monday as she began her two-day trip including stops in Senegal and then the Ivory Coast.

The two countries are some of West Africa's last remaining democracies amid coups and outbreaks of violence that have seen many countries in the area turn their back on the West and instead seek support from Russia and China.

"The problems and challenges of the region, terror, migration, organized crime and poverty also directly affect us in Europe," Baerbock said. 

Can't pretend 'nothing happened' in region, but not 'pulling down all our tents' either

Since 2020, Mali, Chad, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Gabon have seen military uprisings.

Meanwhile, in neighboring Sudan in particular, sectarian violence has led to compounding humanitarian crises and some 15,000 deaths.

In Sudan civil war, fears grow of potential genocide

Following talks with her Senegalese counterpart Yassine Fall, Baerbock said she and Germany had no illusions about the instability in the region and had been forced to react accordingly. 

"We cannot simply carry on as if nothing had happened," she said. 

But Baerbock also said that it remained clear to Berlin that the Sahel was part of Germany and Europe's immediate neighborhood. 

"That is why we are not pulling down all our tents, but acting pragmatically within the remaining room for maneuver," she said. "With all the crises that are currently keeping us on tenterhooks, we know that Europe's opportunities and challenges are inextricably linked to those of Africa."

Baerbock to talk migration, sustainability

Germany's top diplomat also met with newly elected President Bassirou Diomaye Faye in Dakar. Migration and renewable energy were set to be at the top of the agenda.

Baerbock also took a trip on the electric Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system in the Senegalese capital, one of the first such fleets in Africa. It went into service in May after receiving funding from the World Bank and the European Investment Bank.

Annalena Baerbock on a bus that's part of Dakar's all-electric "Bus Rapid Transit" network, speaking with Senegal's Infrastructure Minister Malick Ndiaye, seated to her right.
Baerbock rode the all-electric BRT network with Infrastructure Minister Malick Ndiaye (seated next to her)Image: Britta Pedersen/dpa/picture alliance

The EU's Global Gateway initiative plans to invest up to €300 billion (around $326 billion) in the infrastructure of emerging and developing countries over the next few years.

Senegal has also become a major transit point for refugees fleeing the violence in the Sahel seeking their way to Europe. In 2023, arrivals that set off from Senegal exceeded those of much closer Morocco.

es, msh/lo (AFP, dpa)