The President of the Republic, Head of State, HE Issoufou Mahamadou, is participating, this Monday, April 27, 2020, in the Virtual Summit of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA), on the health crisis caused by COVID 19 .

This videoconference summit, which brings together the eight Heads of State of the member countries, is chaired by HE Mr. Alassane Ouattara, President of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, current President of the Conference of Heads of State and Government.

In a speech on this occasion, President Issoufou Mahamadou, among other things, welcomed the implementation of a community strategy to deal with the Covid-19 health crisis.

The Head of State stressed that “to deal with the consequences of this pandemic, Niger took certain measures as of March 17, that is to say before the registration of the first case. »

Subsequently, these measures were reinforced and a global response plan, amounting to 1.438 billion FCFA, was put in place, said the Head of State.

The countries of the Union, he said, by acting "united and united", will strengthen their resilience in the face of this crisis.

This is why President Issoufou Mahamadou welcomed the establishment of a community strategy to do so. Therefore, Niger supports the recommendations of the WAEMU Commission on the health, economic and security levels, he noted.

Convinced that at the global level, there will be a before and an after COVID-19, HE Mr. Issoufou Mahamadou invited "our Commission to engage in reflection to bring the contribution of our Community to the establishment of a new paradigm with a view to better global political and economic governance. »

This governance would emphasize the following values: dignity, equality, justice and solidarity, he said.

It is under these conditions that we will be able to share the risks as well as the benefits of globalisation”, affirmed the President of the Republic.

Stressing that the COVID19 health crisis comes on top of the security crisis faced by some Member States of the Union, the Head of State indicated that "this security situation remains characterized by threats from terrorist groups in the central zone of the G5 Sahel and in the Lake Chad basin. »

Following the Pau Summit of January 13, 2020 between France and the G5 Sahel States, a roadmap was drawn up with the objectives of combating terrorism, strengthening the security and defense capacities of States, restoring or the strengthening of the presence of the State and basic services, the intensification of development efforts, he recalled.

The implementation of this roadmap is regularly monitored at the highest level and good results have been recorded, particularly on the first component relating to the fight against terrorism, added President Issoufou Mahamadou.

Indeed, thanks to the combined efforts between the Barkhane force, the joint force of the G5 Sahel and the National Armed Forces, mopping-up operations are underway and they have been very successful, he said.

Several hundred terrorists have been neutralized and their equipment destroyed, said the Head of State, specifying that “the terrorists' ability to cause harm is already seriously undermined in the triangle of the three Mali-Burkina-Niger borders. »

In the Lake Chad basin, continued the President of the Republic, the Multinational Mixed Force is recording significant successes in its fight against Boko Haram.

"I hope that our union will continue to show its solidarity with member countries in the fight against terrorism," he said.